Rupert Grint and Ron Perlman Team up for Hoax of the Century in ‘Moonwalkers’
Sandra Miska
Unlikely allies Ron Perlman and Rupert Grint have come together to put together one heck of a plan B in the comedy “Moonwalkers.” Set in 1969, Perlman plays an American CIA agent named Kidman who is given a unique assignment ahead of the Apollo 11 mission: to oversee the making of a film of a staged moon landing that would be played to the public in the event of the Apollo 11 failing to land on the moon. The U.S. government is determined to win the space race against the Russians at any cost apparently even if that means committing fraud. Kidman isn’t sent to Hollywood but to swinging London to seek out “2001: A Space Odyssey” filmmaker Stanley Kubrick.
Meanwhile, rock band manager Jonny (Grint) is struggling not only to manage the expectations of his egomaniac lead singer Glen (Eric Lampaert), but also to pay off a dangerous loan shark known as “The Ironmonger.”
Fortuitous circumstances bring Jonny and Kidman together in the office of Jonny’s cousin, Kubrick’s sleazy agent Derek Kaye (Stephen Campbell Moore). A desperate Jonny has just finished begging his kinsman for money without success when Kidman enters and mistakes him for Kaye. Seeing an opportunity to save himself from being butchered by The Ironmonger, Jonny promises to deliver Kubrick and enlists his actor roommate Leon (Robert Sheehan) to impersonate the auteur. Once Kidman realizes that he has been had and gave a suitcase full of cash to two imposters, he tracks down the redhead in a rage. By then, The Ironmonger’s henchmen have taken all the dough, and Jonny and Kidman find themselves both backed into corners with no choice but to work together.
Jonny introduces Kidman to filmmaker Renatus (Tom Audenaert), an eccentric hippie druggie who lives in a mansion with the entrance designed to resemble a certain part of the female anatomy. Jonny and Leon work with Renatus and Kidman, whose way out of his comfort zone among the hippies, overseeing the project. As one can imagine, much hilarity ensues. No opportunity is missed to make Kidman, a hardass Vietnam vet who suffers from PTSD, uncomfortable.
“Moonwalkers” was penned by Dean Craig, the writer of another dark comedy, “Death at a Funeral.” Craig goes a little farther in his latest endeavor with scenes of Kidman having Vietnam flashbacks and violence that borders on Tarantino territory. Some may be put off by all the gore and wackiness, but those who appreciate a good absurd comedy will get a kick out of this film that is full of laughs. Grint, who is best known for playing Harry Potter’s bff Ron Weasley, proves himself as a comic talent.
Perlman and the supporting cast of mostly unknowns also have more than their share of humorous moments, not all of them involving mind-altering substances. One complaint would be that the film’s ending feels somewhat abrupt.
“Moonwalkers” is the first feature from French director Antoine Bardou-Jacquet. According to Bardou-Jacquet, this film is for those who subscribe to the conspiracy theories surrounding the moon landing, whom he feels deserve a “true story” about this monumental event.
“Moonwalkers” opens Jan. 15 in select theaters and on VOD.