Gentlemen Broncos

Benjamin is a shy, imaginative teen who writes in a notebook full of fantastical adventures. He heads to a fantasy writers' convention hoping to get feedback, maybe win a prize, and prove to himself that his ideas matter. The event is a loud, funny blur of booths, fans, and earnest pitches, where aspiring authors glide from booth to booth trading one more premise than the last. At the heart of it all stands a celebrated novelist named Bronco Chevalier, who reveals that he already published a very similar story and treats Benjamin's concept as his own. The moment kicks off a pointed satire about originality, ego, and the odd economics of literary fame, while keeping twists under wraps.

Directed by Jared Hess from a script by Jerusha Hess and Jared Hess, Gentlemen Broncos revisits the offbeat energy of Napoleon Dynamite with a sharper satire of publishing culture. It carried a 10 million budget and leaned into off-kilter humor.

Critics were divided by its tone, with some praising the dry humor and deadpan performances and others finding the satire opaque. The film digs into originality and integrity while poking fun at fame hungry authors and the rituals of convention life, raising questions about what it means to stay true.

It may not have become a mainstream hit, but Gentlemen Broncos earned a small cult following among fans of indie comedies. Viewers recall its meta riffs on writer's block and plagiarism and its bold approach to satirizing the fantasy world and the people who chase it today.