Movies
Weekend Box Office
Film Awards & Top 10s By Year
All-Time High Scores
All-Time Low Scores
Best / Worst of the Decade
Wide Releases
Now In Theaters
49
2012
41
Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel
84
Avatar![]()
69
Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans
53
Blind Side
53
Book of Eli, The
55
Christmas Carol, A
57
Daybreakers
43
Dear John
27
Did You Hear About the Morgans?
55
Edge of Darkness
45
Extraordinary Measures
83
Fantastic Mr. Fox![]()
42
From Paris with Love
65
Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, The
74
Invictus
57
It's Complicated
34
Law Abiding Citizen
33
Leap Year
33
Legion
42
Lovely Bones, The
54
Men Who Stare At Goats, The
34
Ninja Assassin
19
Old Dogs
xx
Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief
39
Planet 51
79
Precious: Based on the Novel by Sapphire
73
Princess & the Frog, The
64
Road, The
57
Sherlock Holmes
27
Spy Next Door, The
36
Tooth Fairy
44
Twilight Saga: New Moon, The
83
Up in the Air![]()
43
Valentine's Day
25
When in Rome
71
Where the Wild Things Are
xx
WolfMan, The
63
Youth in Revolt
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
Limited Releases
Now In Theaters
46
44 Inch Chest
83
Ajami![]()
73
Amreeka
xx
Barefoot to Timbuktu
19
Bitch Slap
24
Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day, The
76
Broken Embraces
64
Cloud 9
65
Coco Before Chanel
84
Cove, The![]()
84
Crazy Heart![]()
21
Crazy on the Outside
48
Creation
xx
Daddy Long Legs
81
Damned United, The![]()
68
Departures
62
District 13: Ultimatum
85
Education, An![]()
71
Eyes Wide Open
24
Falling Awake
81
Fish Tank![]()
56
For My Father
xx
From Mexico with Love
43
Frozen
68
Girl on the Train, The
52
Killing Kasztner
74
Last Station, The
43
Little Traitor, The
51
Loss of a Teardrop Diamond, The
73
Me and Orson Welles
76
Messenger, The
57
Missing Person, The
67
Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers, The
xx
My Name is Khan
49
Nine
63
North Face
59
October Country
67
Off and Running
52
Paranoids, The
49
Pop Star on Ice
49
Private Lives of Pippa Lee, The
xx
Promised Lands (Re-release)
69
Red Riding Trilogy, The
29
Saint John of Las Vegas
69
September Issue, The
36
Serious Moonlight
63
Shinjuku Incident, The
77
Single Man, A
xx
Still Bill
76
Terribly Happy
74
That Evening Sun
19
To Save a Life
68
Town Called Panic, A
59
Until the Light Takes Us
57
Videocracy
65
Waiting for Armageddon
82
White Ribbon![]()
43
Women in Trouble
xx
Word is Out
64
Young Victoria, The
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
Danny Deckchair

Mixed or average reviews
Based on 25 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 4 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie >
Movie Info
Genre(s): Comedy
Written by: Jeff Balsmeyer
Directed by: Jeff Balsmeyer
Release Date:
Theatrical: August 11, 2004
DVD: December 21, 2004
Running Time: 90 minutes, Color
Origin: Australia
Summary
RATING: PG-13 for sex-related situations
Starring Rhys Ifans, Miranda Otto, Justine Clarke, Rhys Muldoon, John Batchelor, Alan Flower, Julie Sobotta, and Brian Langsworth
When the long awaited holiday of cement truck driver Danny (Ifans) goes south thanks to his scheming girlfriend, he escapes his suburban prison and blasts into the skies in a garden chair tied with helium balloons. (Lions Gate Entertainment)
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database View The Trailer Official Studio Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
New York Daily News Jack Mathews
Danny Deckchair may be a trifle, but it offers a breezy lift for the dog days of summer.
Read Full Review >USA Today Mike Clark
This handsome movie works thanks to its lack of pretension and an atmosphere somewhat akin to the gentle wackiness of director Bill Forsyth's better works.
Read Full Review >Seattle Post-Intelligencer Sean Axmaker
It's pure romantic fantasy, almost too cute and naively innocent for its own good. Jeff Balsmeyer, a former storyboard artist making his directorial debut, stumbles through the clumsy establishing scenes, but his playful direction smoothes out as the characters settle in.
Read Full Review >Portland Oregonian M. E. Russell
A charming small-town comedy, thanks to the playfully romantic lead actors.
Read Full Review >Dallas Observer Gregory Weinkauf
A breezy romantic comedy, boasting a shameless silly streak.
Read Full Review >Washington Post Sara Gebhardt
This charming, hopeful story does very well just by validating our daydreams.
Read Full Review >Washington Post Stephen Hunter
It is piffle done well. A (literally) lighter-than-air story, full of goofs and creeps and fools and silliness, it manages to delight without simpering, make points without lecturing and break hearts and mend them again without turning you weepy.
Read Full Review >The Hollywood Reporter Erin Free
In the warm, sparkling character comedy Danny Deckchair, the Welsh actor (Rhys Ifans) moves to center stage, but it has taken a trip to Australia to get him there.
Read Full Review >Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington
Sweet-tempered, good-looking, goofy and not too sharp. The movie doesn't make much sense and neither does Danny, played by Welsh heartthrob Rhys Ifans.
Read Full Review >Miami Herald Connie Ogle
The most interesting aspect of Danny Deckchair, though, may be that the film is based on the true story.
Read Full Review >The New York Times Stephen Holden
A pleasantly sappy fable of new beginnings that suggests a Frank Capra film sweetened with an extra layer of sugar glaze.
Read Full Review >Variety David Stratton
Thanks to amiable lead performances from Miranda Otto and Rhys Ifans, this not very original Aussie comedy about a man making a fresh start in life is a pleasant enough time-waster.
Read Full Review >Los Angeles Times Carina Chocano
As instantly gratifying and devoid of surprises as a Club Med vacation. It bears no relation to reality whatsoever, but sometimes it's nice to imagine that, somewhere, there's a place nothing like home.
Read Full Review >Entertainment Weekly Scott Brown
It's a soothing stoner tableau, a fine dropout fantasy.
Read Full Review >LA Weekly Ella Taylor
American-born writer-director Jeff Balsmeyer can't seem to make up his mind whether he's making a gentle romantic comedy with heartfelt trimmings, or a full-court Aussie farce.
Read Full Review >ReelViews James Berardinelli
The limp movie seems to be an attempt by an Australian to mimic a bad American romantic comedy, and, unfortunately, he succeeds admirably.
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club) Nathan Rabin
Best known for "Notting Hill," Ifans remains a charming actor, but even his fine work can't get this lead zeppelin off the ground.
Read Full Review >Boston Globe Ty Burr
What you might call conditional whimsy, predicated on the audience overlooking so many plot implausibilities that it might get tuckered out from all the charity.
Read Full Review >San Francisco Chronicle Peter Hartlaub
Danny Deckchair offers some welcome cinematic comfort food in a summer filled with bloated special-effects movies and bad teen comedies.
Read Full Review >Chicago Reader Hank Sartin
Has an affable charm, but the script is paint by numbers.
Read Full Review >Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
A splendid movie while its hero is preparing for his flight and actually experiencing it, but it's not nearly as interesting once he descends to earth.
Read Full Review >Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov
It's a pleasant enough ride, certainly, but in the end it also has all the wicked emotional punch of Bill Cosby on Quaaludes.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 8.5 (out of 10) based on 4 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Jack S. gave it a9:
A funny and quirky movie, very light hearted and super silly. What better way to spend a rainy day!
Peregrin gave it a9:
Hughie said it... lots of fun! This is not some indie film that is determined to be bleak. This is unadulterated happy stuff. You will turn off the TV smiling, unless you are craving something cerebral.
Hughie gave it a 7:
Lots of fun!
