Ryan McNeil
Sometimes, the best ideas come from the oddest places. When i asked director Rolf de Heer how he was inspired to make his silent comedy, DR. PLONK (* * *), he answered that he was simply rooting through a closet in his production house, and came upon some very expired film stock…stuff that should have been thrown away years before. But looking at what was almost garbage, gave him an idea on how to put it to good use. The result was this silent comedy about an inventor, who along with the support of his wife, his simple-minded assistant Paulus, and noble dog Tiberius, creates a time machine to prove his theory that the world will end in 2008.
Any silent comedy will automatically be held up to the Keaton/Chaplin standard, and while this movie won’t be put into a league with those two legends anytime soon, it is an absolute delight, and a very charming film. Nigel Lunghi, who is a street performer in Australia, gets every facial and physical expression bang on. So too does Paul Blackwell, as the bumbling deaf/mute assistant. Unfortunately, both of them are almost completely upstaged by Reg The Dog who got tons of laughs with his demented energy.
The physical comedy in the movie is something to behold, and the director and actors deserve a lot of credit for creating some amazing sequences. At one point, and entire scene was summed up by four words in the script: “The police chase Plonk”. The resulting manic run-around played for great laughs, and is really quite a great bit of choreography.
I’d recommend everyone who read this go see it, but as of now it has only been released in Australia. If you’re reading this in Australia (a blogger can dream) – go see it. If you’re a more “western hemisphere cinephile“, at least take a moment to visit the website and check out the trailer.