Plot Details: This opinion reveals major details about the movie's plot.

The Hollywood legend of Troy Duffy sounds almost too good to be true and, as this film vividly documents, it was. Duffy, a bartender by trade, was discovered circa 1997 bartending and bouncing at a club in Hollywood by head honcho of Miramax at the time Harvey Weinstein. The two hit it off, and Weinstein offered Duffy an unprecedented deal to produce his screenplay for the film The Boondock Saints. The deal included giving Duffy free reign to control all aspects of the film's production, $300,000 for the script, a $15 million budget, a soundtrack deal for Duffy's music project, and an offer to purchase the bar that Duffy was working at. As Duffy began to bring his project into fruition, however, he became more of a liability than a big Hollywood studio was willing to take interest in.

Tony Montana and Mark Brian Smith's documentary Overnight chronicles Duffy's rise to the top and subsequent fall from the precipice of fame into complete obscurity as he single-handedly destroys the relationships that got him his big break through poor decision making and interpersonal skills. Essentially, the film portrays Duffy as an utter egotist: an arrogant, self-centered prick who alienates everyone around him and in the process screws several of his closest friends, who had invested more than Duffy realized in his ability to negotiate with corporate heads, over.

The film starts out in 1997 by illustrating the rather outlandish details of the offer given to Duffy by Miramax. Within a few months, Duffy's band, made up of three others including his brother Taylor, has a major record deal and it appears that Duffy is indeed as the trade papers reported, "the new Tarantino." Beginning production on his feature film, however, presents new challenges to the maverick director, and it appears that he still has control over his faculties as he begins to assemble some cast members and scout locations. Soon, however, Duffy starts to let his ego get the best of him, conducting profanity-laden shouting matches with the very people who gave him a chance. As the production deal falls through, Duffy becomes even more aggressive in dealing with his associates and the very people who are relying on him for their livelihoods.

Overnight as a film really benefits from being filmed from a first-person perspective by the very people who were part of the documentary's narrative. Directors Smith and Montana were two of the production assistants - and friends of - Duffy who were assembled to get his various film and music projects off the ground. Frequently, Smith and Montana find themselves as subjects for the film, as Duffy verbally attacks and criticizes all of his closest friends for the efforts in dealing with the events facing them.

Due to this intimacy of the approach, the audience for this film really starts to identify with the characters, mainly with Duffy's brother Taylor and the other peripheral characters who quit their jobs and moved to Hollywood essentially to help Troy fulfill his grand schemes. As these people try to get by on minimal sustenance, Troy continues to destroy all of his remaining connections with the industry and burn every bridge that he can through recklessly arrogant tirades and a sense that everyone around him should be at his disposal and do his bidding.

Troy is the all-powerful, and those who don't subscribe to his vision are expendable. In a particularly cruel scene, Troy tells his bandmates that, while they have worked hard and done good work in promoting the band and other projects, they don't deserve to be paid for these efforts. This obviously doesn't sit well with the band members who are essentially living in squalor by this point, attempting to wait for Troy's promises of large living to become reality.

Overnight is filled with incredibly awkward actualities such as this, and certainly this is one of the clearest portraits of how not to succeed in the film business. The film ends with a quote that essentially says that fame brings out a person's true nature, and in doing so, often reveals personality traits that are not exactly favorable. This point is the perfect message to be the theme of this film. Fame truly brings Troy Duffy's most savage elements to the forefront, and this outrageous behavior eventually undermines any of the talent and promise that he would have brought to the film and/or music industry.

Smith and Montana's handling of the editing of this film is exemplary. While you probably could argue that the film is manipulative and somewhat exploitative in depicting the unfavorable personality displays by Duffy, it seems like for the most part that Overnight avoids such manipulation and simply plays the events it depicts as they happened. There's no narration going on to distort the situations, and the only explanation text-wise are some titles that introduce the characters and situation at the beginning and some epilogue-like text at the end. This is a fine piece of cinema verite film making that allows the viewer to analyze the events for himself; the film doesn't pass judgment by itself.

That said, I would find it hard to believe that anyone would really feel any affinity toward Troy Duffy after watching this. The guy really comes across as a nutjob, and is thoroughly unlikeable in light of the behavior he exhibits here. As for his talent, although I know plenty of "hip" film aficionados who really appreciate Boondock Saints, I really found the film painfully ordinary and really didn't see what the fuss was about. Overnight in my opinion is the better view, providing a priceless view inside the Hollywood industry.

The DVD of this film includes a couple of extras. Two deleted scenes, which are interesting but really would add nothing to the film, are included, as well as an interview with the directors that was produced for TV. A biography section kind of serves as a "where are they now." It's interesting to note that most everyone in this film really saw their career go nowhere following their association with Troy Duffy.

For cinema fans looking for a thoroughly entertaining, and enlightening, look at the film industry, look no further than Overnight. The film's unique perspective on the industry from the inside plays as a sort of tragic comedy of errors, mostly due to the outrageous behavior of the would-be film director at its center. At 82 minutes, this film propels itself forward effortlessly, and really shines in portraying the consequences that fame leads to in. It's fine documentary film making, and I think that many audiences would enjoy this film provided they aren't easily offended by rough language.

Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age