Danny in the Sky (2001) User Reviews

Slick film with a weak screenplay

[Havan_IronOak · 4/10 · 12 June 2003]

Caution May Contain Some Spoilers

I recently saw this film at the NY G&L film festival and although it had the glossy look of the bigger budget films with good production values, it didn't have the one thing that I think that it takes to make a great picture… Characters that you actually care about in a story that makes sense.

At least part of the problem is the story that this film chooses to concentrate on. I think that the interesting story of Danny's gay dad raising a child would have been more interesting than this vacuous film about Danny's breaking up with one girl and starting up with another. Or the story of what happened to Danny's cousin between our seeing him in the hospital and at the end on the bus. Or more about the stripper that takes Danny in and why and why he's going back to school.

The actors in this were all very attractive and that dulled the pain of sitting through this film a bit. However, I felt that the characters were unmotivated in any real way by the events in the story.

Just one example… Danny's Dad was forced to move them at one point in Danny's childhood when it became known that two gay men were raising Danny. Since then his dad has acted ultra-straight, having the lover move out and making sure not to touch Danny at all for fear of any closeness being misconstrued. Yet when Danny starts stripping in a gay club his Dad not only `discovers' Danny there, but also pays for him to do a table dance so that he can talk to him. Seems to me that a man too afraid to touch his son in private would certainly not hire him to dance for him in public.

Its NOT the worst movie ever made and the players are all easy on the eyes but be forewarned, the movie touches on several stories that would have been more interesting than the one it tells.

Nudity cannot make up for everything that's wrong with this film.

[thatdog99 · 16 July 2003]

I had the distinct displeasure of seeing this film at the Philadelphia Gay & Lesbian Film Festival. I could write a novel about all of the things that were wrong with this film, but instead I will break it down into just a few parts:

a) The cast - Sure, the himbos were nice to look at, but unfortunately any skin baring did little to ease the trauma of the terrible performances that were unfolding before my very eyes.

b) The script - I doubt if the writer(s) of this film had ever taken a Screenwriting class. The movie is filled with wooden dialogue, inplausible set-ups and not one of the characters has even one shred of likability (they're all pretty much wastes of human beings, except for Danny's dead model mother who we know nothing about, except she did drugs). I don't mind having unlikable characters in films, but if you're going to make us hate everyone at least do it in a film where something interesting happens.

I also believe the director is to blame. What made him think that people would want to watch a trainwreck/disaster like this? Just because you have some attractive men taking off their clothes-it doesn't mean that will sustain an audience's attention for 90 min.

AVOID THIS MOVIE AT ALL COSTS!!!!!!

Eye Candy

[barlop123 · 1/10 · 30 January 2005]

Even the worst film ever made may have some compensations. In the case of DANNY IN THE SKY, it's scene after scene of glorious male pulchritude. It would appear that all male cast members were required by contract to doff their shirts at least once per scene. It goes without saying that all the boys in this film ("boys" in the gay-male sense: young men between the ages of 18 and, oh, 26) are beautiful specimens -- it would be pointless for them to be otherwise -- with special props to Thierry Pepin in the title role, who may have the most flawless physique in cinematic history. Unfortunately, every time an actor opens his mouth, the film -- intellectually -- goes down the tubes. The writing, acting, sets, and direction are all uniformly awful. Since this film was made in French (in Quebec) with English subtitles, the only way to watch the DVD is sans subtitles, or with the sound turned off altogether, which should help concentrate your mind on the only possible justification for DANNY IN THE SKY: Thierry Pepin's body.

amateur film

[1984-1 · 1/10 · 8 February 2002]

When I went to see Danny in the Sky, I was all by myself in the theatre and I understood why after seeing the worst movie made in Quebec over the past 5 years. The acting is amateur, the story is boring and the whole thing is very pretentious. They should have hired real actors instead of professional models. I went to see the film because I had read that the director was extremely proud of his film and that his casting had been done very meticulously. Well, talk about overestimating yourself ! What I don't understand is that the director actually got a grant from the government to shoot his film (because this is how it works in Canada, every movie is subsidized by the government since no entrepreneur has enough guts to risk his own money in moviemaking). How can they waste taxpayers' money on that film when a great little film like "Stephanie, Nathalie, Caroline and Vincent" (made in Quebec in 2001) could not get a penny from the government and had to be financed entirely by its producer?

with diamonds

[yawnmower1 · 8/10 · 19 May 2007]

There is one very good reason to watch this film: Thierry Pepin as Danny. He is, without doubt, one of the most exquisite boys on film, with a stunning body and a profound natural sexiness. He also happens to be a very good actor, a fact which might well be overlooked because his beauty and potent physical presence are so overpowering.

Danny's life is a rather gut-wrenching tragedy. He has been orphaned by the death of his mother, and is further alienated by the coldness and brutality of his frustrated gay father. Desperate to be loved, Danny uses his extraordinary looks to get a semblance of it by modeling and, eventually, stripping in a gay club.

His father's distance and anger derive from his decision, supposedly for Danny's benefit, to 'act straight' as he raised his son. An unfortunate choice for them both. His behavior is a study in the negative effects of repression. After one vile act of violence too many, Danny leaves home for good.

Rejected by his father, abandoned by his girlfriend, and betrayed by his cousin, Danny commits an irresponsible and perilous act of revenge. He immediately regrets it, but the damage is done and he must live with the consequences.

Danny's humiliation and isolation is complete when his father finally chooses to embrace his homosexuality, and does so by sleeping with his son's only friend. This is truly one nasty guy. Danny is now truly alone. No friends. No family. One can only hope that he might live to find the peace and love he so consciously, and heartbreakingly, seeks.

Unfairly marketed

[infoed · 12 January 2004]

To market this as a gay film is insulting. The main character is not gay. There is nothing in Danny's behavior that marks him for gay. He pursues women the entire movie, finally ending up with one of the most annoying women in the movie. One wants to knock that ever-present camera right out of her hands.

The movie itself is so-so. None of the characters are especially likable and the bitter dad looks almost as hunky as his onscreen son.

This movie is a world of men who dress in ridiculous effete clothing and try and act studly. not really worth more than a look at the main character who is truly beautiful.

great film

[dl-11 · 10/10 · 21 February 2002]

Langlois has a feel for the social content of his stories. There is no Quebec director that I know of who treats the vicissitudes of modern, mainstream gay life with Langlois's acuity and candour.

Because Langlois is something of a small ` m ' maverick, working on the outskirts of the industry with his regular collaborator, producer an co-scripwriter Bertrand Lachance, his movies have a freshness, a directness. Langlois's latest, Danny in the Sky, represents a step up for the director. It's a bigger budget project with higher production values and slick cinematography courtesy of Stefan Ivanov (whose credits include Rodrigue Jean's gritty Full Blast and idiosyncratic Chilean auteur Raoul Ruiz's Généalogies d'un crime). With clothes provided by a slew of Quebec designers and a bumping soundtrack featuring cuts from such techno heroes as DJ Mutante, Les Jardiniers, Luc Raymond and Alain Vinet, to name a few, the film is a showcase for local talent. What Danny does offer (…) is some insight into the slippery nature of sexuality and masculinity. Though feminized by being an object of adoration, a commodity whose body is for sale, Danny learns to forge his own identity. It's such insights that keep me interested in Langlois's work. He has an angle.

looking for intelligent audiences

[ctg2005 · 8/10 · 6 December 2011]

I beg you, do NOT pay any attention to the few bad reviews this movie got here. The journey of a young guy looking for his identity is deeply touching, moving and, at last but not least, profound. Denis Langlois handles his material with a hard knowledge of the human heart, truthfulness and sincerity. I wonder how can people stay unmoved by the scene in the dark room, where Daniel and his father meet? It was wonderful the way the director managed to show the messed up feelings we can feel in that scene. There is plenty of it. I mean, do people realize how beautiful it was to stage the moment of truth between father and son in a dark room, where they get "naked" and finally show what they really feel? Furthermore, there was NO exploitation in the feature. Only a few nudity were allowed and no voyeurism at all. It's clearly stated that the photographer respects her subjects. And there is more. I simply loved the way Daniel tries to get rid of his cousin, knocking him off with ecstasy. A typical female action, the most appropriate for guys who are into modeling. So go and buy the DVD, it's really worth watching.