... Donnie Darko ... 
... Donnie Darko ...
"Donnie" is played by Jake Gyllenhaal. The cast is quite an interesting one, including some very young and virtual unknowns along with seasoned and applauded veterans. These stars include Jena Malone, Alex Greenwald, Seth Rogen, ER's Noah Wyle, Katherine Ross, Mary McDonnell (Patrick's co-star in "Tiger Warsaw"), and Maggie Gyllenhaal (Jake's sister). Patrick's character is "Jim Cunningham" and has been described as being somewhat like a Tony Robbins self-help character.
"Donnie Darko" screened at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival held in January at the Park City, Utah. It was not received as well as anticipated, if you believe the reviews. However, a source close to the production has reported that many reviews were written by people not actually in attendance or were based on hearsay. The source told me that of the 5 showings at Sundance, they attended 3 of them plus a special Q & A session for a 4th and that, "Virtually every audience member stayed for the Q and A and people were extrememly impressed and outspoken about how neat the film was."
After Sundance, the film was re-edited and shortened by approximately ten minutes. There was a premier in Los Angeles on October 22 which Patrick attended, and then "Donnie Darko" opened in selected cities across the country on October 26, 2001, via Newmarket Distributing. Reviews have been very favorable, although it may take multiple viewings to really see the complexity of it all, and the movie apparently does live up to its "weird" buzz. See the links below for some nice Sundance related sites and various movie reviews with more information. The photo below is courtesy of the Sundance website:
Keri Wilhelm, a SwayzeMania member from Texas, wrote the following short review, focused on Patrick's performance, of "Donnie Darko" after watching it on the 26:
Patrick Swayze plays Jim Cunningham, a local man that is adored by most of the women in town. His line of work is to figure out people's fears and help them. He goes to Donnie Darko's high school for a conference and Donnie yells at him accusing him of being a big fake. His hobby is also golf and he plays with Donnie's father, but Donnie uses a fake name when he addresses Jim on the stage. Later on in the movie Frank, Donnie's evil 6 ft. bunny friend tells him to set the home on fire....which he does. Jim Cunningham is then convicted of child pornography...I just laughed when I heard this because there is no way our Patrick Swayze could do this. He is arrested and taken away. Its a short but memorable role for Patrick Swayze, and he is looking good in the movie too, I almost didn't recognize him, he's lost weight and has a dark tan...but his eyes and smile are still the same! Its a good role for Patrick and it was nice seeing him on the big screen again...if you are an avid Patrick fan and don't mind some weirdness in your life, then go and see this movie...beware though, it has quite a bit of cussing in it, so this is not something young teens should see, which is probably why its rated R.
The October premier party was written up in Variety by Eileen Kowalski who said in part, "Although the process of getting into the packed Las Palmas after-party was almost as complex as the mind-bending film, guests mixed it up past midnight on Monday after the "Donnie Darko" preem, swizzling glow-stick stirrers and watching Drew Barrymore get down with her booty-shaking crew." According to Kowalski, those in attendance included "Newmarket Films topper Will Tyrer; exec producers Hunt Lowry and Barrymore (who also stars) with Tom Green; producer Sean McKittrick; director Richard Kelly; and cast members Jena Malone, Patrick Swayze, Beth Grant, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Daveigh Chase."
Photos courtesy of Reuters and Variety!
Joe Bradley on the Entertainment Sleuth website rated "Donnie Darko" as his sixth favorite film at Sundance and stated the following:
There have been several reviews of this movie on this site, and I pretty much agree with all of them. "Donnie Darko" is not a perfect film, but it is one of the most original movies to come out of Hollywood in ages. While the plot seems bizarre - the story of a high school student haunted by apocalyptic visions delivered by a six-foot tall bunny - it is much more commercial than that description implies, sort of a John Hughes film gone bad. The cast - including Mary McDonnell, Noah Wyle, and Patrick Swayze as a creepy Tony Robbins-type - is uniformally excellent. I hope Drew Barrymore, who produced the movie, continues to support writing this original.
A few days earlier, Liane Bonin had written the following report on the site:
The Sundance Film Festival is just a few days old, but a dark horse has already emerged in Park City. ''Dirty Dancing'' hoofer Patrick Swayze, whose career sank into obscurity in the mid '90s, is getting buzz from his roles in two fest entries: the edgy time travel tale ''Donnie Darko'' and the refugee camp melodrama ''Green Dragon.''Though ''Darko'' has received mixed reviews, audiences are responding to Swayze's performance as a cheesy inspirational speaker with a taste for kiddie porn, a role 25 year old director/ writer Richard Kelly was sure the ''Ghost'' heartthrob would reject. ''He kept saying, 'God, you're so courageous to take this role,' and after the fifth time he said that, I thought, one more time and I'm not doing it,'' the 48 year old Swayze tells EW.com. ''But it was when he said it was typecasting that I really got worried.''
In a display of affection rarely seen at the über cool fest, a stampede of fans surrounded Swayze (and ''Green Dragon'' costar Forest Whitaker) outside the Egyptian Theater on Saturday when a photo shoot featuring the two actors caught the attention of passing crowds. The swarm of fans (or maybe they were ticket buyers demanding their money back for ''Road House'') caused traffic to be blocked in both directions on Main Street until local police stepped in to clear the way.
Released (limited) 10-26-01Domestic Box Office: $TBD118 minutes, edited down from 120-125 Minutes, Rated R, from Gaylord Films, Flower Films, Pandora CinemaFilmed in: California (Los Angeles)
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