Product Description

Hilarious and Horrifying at the same time, this is a Rags to Riches story about of Boston Bartender Troy Duffy who’s script "BoonDock Saints" made him an overnight success and failure… This epitomizes the word JERK like no other could. The once darling of Miramax head, Harvey Weinstein, Duffy does great job of burning bridges with everyone and anyone in Hollywood. This should be Film 101 of how not to act in the film business. You won’t believe it until you see for yourself.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #20579 in DVD
• Brand: Image Entertainment
• Released on: 2005-06-28
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Color, Dolby, DVD, Letterboxed, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 82 minutes

Customer Reviews

Portrait of a blow-hard
Troy Duffy was on the fast-track to become a Hollywood legend-while working as a bartender, he sold a screenplay to Miramax head Harvey Weinstein, got permission to direct it, and secured a recording deal for his band. Unfortunately for himself, Duffy was an egotistical control freak who insisted on claiming all the glory and credit for the good things that happened to him and assigning blame for all of the bad. This documentary chronicles his downfall as he disrespects and mistreats nearly everyone he encounters, ultimately losing all of his great opportunities.

When I first heard about this film, I wondered if anyone whose actions don't affect the public really deserves this kind of treatment. I was also leery about the honesty of the filmmakers; after all, you could probably make anybody look bad with selective editing. I still have some reservations, but after having seen the film, it's kind of hard to see how they could have edited it to make him look good. He makes some stunningly unkind statements to people to whom he claims to be loyal and seems to revel in the chance to put others down and force them to acknowledge his "superiority."

This film serves as a cautionary tale about how not to treat people. I imagine that Duffy will see this film someday if he hasn't already. I wonder if being an observer will allow him to see his responsibility for his own downfall, or if he continues to see himself as the genius auteur who was brought down by foolish hangers-on and duplicitous studio people.

The Art of Self-Assassination
"Overnight" is one of the most hilarious movies you will see in many a moon, but only if you are a devotee of "schadenfreude", that is, the spectacle of a royal jerk getting what he richly deserves. It's amazing how little self-knowledge some people have; apparently novice filmmaker Troy Duffy had no idea how megalomanical and obnoxious he came off to other people. This DVD really does restore your faith that some justice does exist.

There are a couple of mysteries that the film leaves unanswered. One is why Miramax chief Harvey Weinstein dropped Duffy in the first place; another is whether Harvey really did blacklist Duffy's film, "The Boondock Saints". There is an interview with a "Washington Post" reporter who describes Harvey's reactions. Some more interviews with some objective sources, or with Harvey himself, might have added some needed perspective. As it is, "Overnight" is a richly subjective look at the art of self-sabotage. Troy Duffy learned a harsh lesson: you can only act like that in Hollywood after you have made a hit film; not before.

The Treasure of Obnoxious Bilious
The documentary Overnight chronicles the manner in which Troy Duffy, hyped-up screenwriter of The Boondock Saints, behaves like a malignant bully toward his buddies, his agents, and his producers. Duffy sees himself as a working-class hero whose genius was discovered by the right people. But what we see, contrary to Duffy, is an overgrown shrieking infant seething with megalomaniacal tantrums, self-aggrandizing fantasies, and paranoid delusions who, alienating everyone, sees himself as an innocent victim. One is tempted to think that the promise of wealth turned him into such a bilious, obnoxious lout, like those characters turned rotten in The Treasure of Sierra Madre. But at the end of the documentary we are given a deliciously insightful quote from Albert Goldman, which sets the record straight:

"No man is really changed by success. What happens is that success works on the man's personality like a truth drug, bringing him out of the closet and revealing...what was always inside his head."