John Carney’s Once worked wonders for me when I saw it on a dreary day a few winters ago. It was touching but not precious, and stars Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová possessed a kind of authenticity that made their music all the more affecting. Zonad, Carney’s follow-up to the acclaimed shoestring budget musical, is a different sort of animal – a tribute to slapstick comedies that paved the way (Carney owes more than a tip of the hat to Mel Brooks and the immortal comedy trio of Jim Abrahams and the Zucker Brothers) and a parody of 50s “aliens invade small town” shlock thrillers.
The concept is sound – tiny town Ballymoran (whose denizens may be developmentally disabled) is visited by Zonad (Simon Delaney), an alien visitor who claims to have fallen “through the fabric of time”. He shacks up with the Cassidy family, who are more than willing to provide this largely immobile extraterrestrial whose daily regimen consists of eating, sleeping and occasionally patching up his skin tight red latex suit. Carney fills out the already brief 75 minute run time with endless montages set to swinging 40/50s B-sides, as Zonad becomes a small-time superstar, despite the objections of a Germanic scientist and Guy Frederickson (Rory Keenan), the former flame of Jenny Cassidy (Janice Byrne), the Cassidy daughter who Zonad has his eye on.
The question of whether Zonad is a real alien or just a lazy fat man making a quick buck from wholesomely stupid town folk is spelled out in the first 20 minutes. None of it really matters and the stakes are low – Carney (here swriting and directing with brother Kieran) seems to be aiming for broad slapstick comedy and the cast gamely keeps tongue firmly in cheek, portraying mild-mannered stereotypes, but there’s no spark to the film. Simon Delaney, who plays Zonad, is not given a lot to work with but his oddly accented “alien” diction and facial expression help elevate the film during its first act. Unfortunately, the rest of the film (that’s 50 minutes of your life) feels like an SNL-sketch that runs out of steam halfway through but pushes on, bleakly hoping that after the 3rd or 5th time a joke is called back, you’ll laugh more out of incredulity than actual good humor.
The Carneys throws a few wrenches into the otherwise dull plot, with Bonad (David Pearse) usurping Zonad’s celebrity status and shacking up with Jenny (I guess parodying old-timey movies means the women are automatically promiscuous and the men well-bred but clueless). On the outs, Zonad joins forces with the man who once despised him to effectively out-asshole Bonad – but will the townspeople learn who Zonad and Bonad really are? More importantly, does it matter?
The reason why Mel Brooks was so darn good at making funny movies – well, there’s lots of reasons but what I liked best about his best films was a genuine love for his oft-dimwitted characters and a desire to take the gag further. One need look no further than the food fight in Blazing Saddles to see what great fun can be had with a joke that grows and grows, becoming madly over-the-top and daring you not to laugh. Blame the budget for Zonad, but there’s only so much the Carney brothers have to work with and the film never ups itself, preferring to play it safe with the same joke spoon fed time and time again. It’s a step in the wrong direction following Once, and I hope that John Carney gets back on the right track pronto - whatever spawned Zonad, I hope it’s out of the system now (and to Carney’s credit, the casting and acting isn’t at fault).
A brief word on the video and audio quality of the disk – it’s below subpar. Colors are muted and nighttime scenes feature black levels that make background characters nearly invisible. Sound is decent, but it’s inexcusable to have a film featuring accents without a subtitle track.
DVD Bonus Features
A trailer for the film and a director’s commentary with the brothers, who offer some brief insight on what they thought was funny and why.
"Zonad" is on sale July 19, 2011 and is not rated. Comedy, Indie. Directed by John Carney, Kieran Carney. Written by John Carney, Kieran Carney. Starring Simon Delaney, Rory Keenan, Janice Byrne, David Pearse.
