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Local actor stars in film parody of Pinewood Derby competitions
BY L. KENT WOLGAMOTT / Lincoln Journal Star
Friday, Oct 07, 2005 - 12:02:36 am CDT

Ross Brockley isn’t sure how the “Down and Derby” filmmakers found him. But the Lincoln comedian best known as the “slacker” in an award-winning series of Holiday Inn commercials found himself in Utah to shoot the film about dads obsessed with winning the Pinewood Derby.

“I think they Googled me or something,” Brockley said. “They called me up. It was for SAG (Screen Actors Guild) minimum. I needed the money, so I went out there and did it.”

In the 90-minute family film, Brockley plays Blaine Moosman, a dentist who, like his two neighbors, takes over the building of the derby car from his Cub Scout son. Brockley’s dentist is laid back, sardonic and contributes much of the movie’s physical humor when he gets caught inside another family’s house trying to steal a winning derby car.

“They didn’t really make me use the script, which is fun,” Brockley said. “They didn’t make me do that in the Holiday Inn commercials either. That’s best for me.”

Making the movie wasn’t much different than doing the elaborate Holiday Inn commercials, Brockley said. In fact, he said, the commercials very likely had a bigger budget than did the movie, which stars Lauren Holly, Greg Germann and Pat Morita, who has a very small role but gets big billing.

“Down and Derby” is an independent film produced by Stonehaven Media and Pure Entertainment, two companies devoted to producing family-friendly movies and television shows. Most of the filmmakers live in Utah and are associated with the film community within the Mormon church.

The Mormon film community had its first hit with “Napoleon Dynamite,” Brockley said. Earlier this year, a film about the life of church founder Joseph Smith was released and the productions keep coming.

“It’s pretty straight-edge out there,” Brockley said, using the rock term for an ultra-clean lifestyle. “The good thing about it is I got another job from it.”

Because it is being independently distributed, “Down and Derby” has been in release since April, playing a few markets at a time. The film has received mixed reviews around country. I found it to be a bit on the slow side, but a decent family picture.

Germann, best known for his part in “Ally McBeal,” plays Phil Davis, who is still obsessed with beating his rival Ace Montana after 25 years, no matter the competition. When the local Cub Scout troop starts its Pinewood Derby competition, Phil sets out to top Ace.

But his friends Big Jimmy (Perry Anzilotti) and Blaine (Brockley) get into the competition too, neglecting their work and alienating their wives as they build tracks and cars to try to win the race.

Written and directed by Eric Hendershot, “Down and Derby” is a genial picture and it has the official Boy Scout stamp of approval in using Pinewood Derby, the uniforms, etc. Nothing all that surprising takes place, and the dads’ actions are so exaggerated as to be unbelievable.

Believability isn’t paramount in family pictures, however. So “Down and Derby” works for the Pinewood Derby audience, if nothing else. It’s not going to be a box-office champ, but look for the picture to have a long run in the DVD market.

As for Brockley, he takes the picture with a grain of salt, laughingly proclaiming, “The movie is better than ‘Gone With the Wind.’”

Even though he’s now got a couple of movies under his belt and is still recognized from those Holiday Inn commercials, don’t look for him to turn up in many more films or ads.

“I’m not actually pursuing it,” he said. “It’s fun to get a job like that. But I live in Lincoln and work on the farm.”

Reach L. Kent Wolgamott at 473-7244 or kwolgamott@journalstar.com.

Down and Derby

(2 stars)

Director: Eric Hendershot

Stars: Greg Germann, Lauren Holly, Perry Anzilotti, Ross Brockley

Rated: PG

Now Showing: Edgewood

The Reel Story: Lincoln comedian Brockley plays one of the dads obsessed with winning the Pinewood Derby in this family comedy.