Teenager: Dude! Did you fight any dragons with this thing?
Gleahan: I have vanquished many a dragon with this blade, but many more I've come to call friend.
Mark: Hey kids! Get away from that guy! He's probably got... rabies... or something.
Gleahan: I have vanquished many a dragon with this blade, but many more I've come to call friend.
Mark: Hey kids! Get away from that guy! He's probably got... rabies... or something.
The first feature film by Samuel T Weston. It premiered in the summer of 2018, but languished in Denial of Digital Distribution hell until the studio released a reworked Director's Cut in 2022.
The movie follows Mark Sanders, a down-on-his-luck but opportunistic asshole who's forced to start selling weed just to pay the bills. He's told right out the gate to avoid the "knight" that's running around town. He then repeatedly runs into Gleahan of Eastvale, a delusional man who acts like he lives in a fantasy world. Gleahan ropes Mark into his epic quest, and hijinks ensue as they unwittingly face down the crime lord who Mark works for.
Made in Duluth, Minnesota on virtually No Budget, Gleahan exists largely because the cast and crew thought the idea was Crazy Enough to Work and went along with it. In that light, the movie's production practically mirrors its own plot.
You can find the trailer on YouTube.
The film was available on The Fantasy Network until the site shut down in 2023.
Tropes appearing in this ridiculous adventure include:
- Adventure Rebuff: Mangled. Mark (the protagonist) actively tries to avoid Gleahan, but when they run into each other Mark still helps him out. Gleahan then seeks out Mark, and Mark keeps avoiding Gleahan until Nathaniel Johnson forces Mark to team up with Gleahan for... unsavory reasons.
- And the Adventure Continues: At the end, obviously.Mark: So! Next adventure?Gleahan: Next adventure it is!
- Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: Seen toward the end of the movie.Judge: First degree assault. Seven counts of involuntary manslaughter. Numerous criminal violations of labor laws including wage violation. Failure to maintain a safe work environment. Interfering with the rights of employees to act together. And the city prosecutor would like it noted that if Duluth had laws on jaywalking, you would be accused of that as well.
- Badass in Distress: Gleahan, the resident badass, gets captured. This kicks the third act into gear.
- Bilingual Bonus: "Ostberg" comes from Swedish and means "East Hill". Guess why it's "Gleahan of Eastvale."
- Character Name and the Noun Phrase: "Gleahan and the Knaves of Industry"
- Defiant Captive: Gleahan, when held at Johnson Manor.
- Damsel out of Distress: After being locked away in her room by her father, Penelope escapes out the window to seek revenge on him.
- Deuteragonist: After Gleahan, Penelope has the most impact in the story — and even deals the final blow to Nathaniel's crime empire!
- Ensemble Dark Horse: Invoked. Slim was deliberately written so audiences would glom onto him and make their own fan theories.
- Family Business: The Johnson Brewing and Mining Company has changed a lot over the years, but it's always stayed in the Johnson family.
- Genre Mashup: The movie hits several genres at once. Either it's a cross between the Indie Darling and Heroic Fantasy, or it's an Adventure Comedy. Take your pick.
- George Lucas Altered Version: Zig-Zagged. The "Director's Cut" (released in 2022) features entirely reworked sound, additional footage, and some new visual effects, among other tweaks. However, the entire cut is a full minute shorter than the original version.
- Good Hair, Evil Hair: Flipped on its head with the male characters. Since All Duluth Men Have Beards, traditional ideas of beard upkeep are ignored. Mark's Perma-Stubble gets a couple extra centimeters. Nathaniel's Beard of Evil goes from goatee to a full beard (with a shaved head to distinguish himself as the villain). In any other film, Slim would be clean-shaven; here, even he has a patchy beard. The only people who don't have facial hair are women.
- Guile Hero: Mark, a pre-law school dropout, uses his knowledge of the law to do some really awesome things.
- The Hero: Zig-Zagged with Gleahan. He definitely brings everyone together, and he's the only one on the team with a sword, but his friends have to rescue him from capture.
- Heroic Fantasy: The movie contains no legitimate fantasy elements, but it hits all the beats of a Heroic Fantasy story. Gleahan definitely thinks he's in one of these, though.
- Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy: When Gleahan confronts Penelope and her Faceless Goons at the warehouse, they shoot at him. Or... Well... Around him.Penelope: "What did I tell you guys on the way over? Don't shoot the merchandise!"
- Inadequate Inheritor: Nathaniel believes Penelope would be bad for his business.
- Knowledge Broker: Madison, the bartender."With all the stuff I hear, you could incriminate half of Duluth."
- Large Ham: Gleahan's entire existence is molded around his bravado. It's even noted by Mark when Gleahan drops the Ham.
- Leeroy Jenkins: Does Gleahan see an opportunity to confront Nathaniel's goons? You can bet he'll take it.
- Limited Wardrobe: Nearly all of the characters, except Penelope, feature this to some degree.
- Gleahan always wears his tabard and sword, with the only change being the garment under his tabard changing from a t-shirt to a sweatshirt once winter sets in.
- Mark is almost always seen in his hoodie, jacket, and jeans, although he'll vary the shirt he's wearing underneath.
- Madison only has 3 outfits.
- Nathaniel is always seen in his suit vest.
- Derek wears a suit for most of the movie until he gets captured.
- Slim always wears the same coat.
- Memetic Mutation: Gleahan has many variants based on "Mark of the Sands."
- Mr. Imagination: Gleahan thinks he lives in a fantasy world.
- On One Condition: A variant. Nathaniel promises the Johnson Brewing and Mining Company to Derek if he can capture Gleahan.
- Out of Character Is Serious Business: Gleahan and Mark have a serious talk about halfway through, where Gleahan drops his trademark bravado.
- The Paragon: Zig-Zagged. Gleahan acts as a Decon-Recon Switch, rushing into things that he knows are right and by doing so getting himself into danger. However, once everyone (especially Mark) is on the same page as him, they're generally on board with his quest. However however, toward the end Gleahan gets pretty ruthless as he carries out the final stages of his quest.
- Perma-Stubble: Mark spends the entire movie in the liminal space between "clean-shaven" and "bearded."
- Refuge in Audacity: In one scene, Mark and Gleahan dramatically enter a bar and proceed to act out a "robbery" situation, all to provide a distraction so Madison and Penelope can get to the upstairs office.
- Shout-Out: Gleahan is from "Eastvale," a reference to World of Warcraft's Eastvale Logging Camp.
- Show Some Leg: Madison tries to distract a guard with her attractiveness, but the guard's having none of it. She proceeds to knock him out.
- The StingerNathaniel: "Gary can't come to the phone right now. He's all tied up!"
- Supporting Protagonist: Mark isn't the title character, and doesn't do as much to advance the plot as Gleahan or Penelope, but the story revolves around him.
- Theme-and-Variations Soundtrack: Three main themes appear throughout the movie, and boy does Samuel T Weston milk them for all they're worth!
- Third-Act Misunderstanding: Defied. Once things start to get hairy between Mark and Gleahan, they step aside and have a much-needed argument, opening up to each other about their true backstories and motives. Because of this talk, they finally become True Companions.
- A Tragedy of Impulsiveness: Most of Gleahan's problems would be solved if he would take a moment to step back and consider the situation. But no, he's dead-set on finishing his quest however he can.
- Troperiffic: In their crowdfunding video, the production team called this "a movie full of tropey goodness." It helps that director Samuel T Weston is a Troper himself and created this very page!note
- Two Guys and a Girl: Mark, Gleahan, and Madison end up forming a pretty strong trio all on their own.
- Weirdness Coupon: Gleahan has a whole season pass, letting people accept a lot of the crazy (and sometimes illegal) things he does.
- Whole-Plot Reference: Downplayed. The movie has been described as "Don Quixote for the Millennial age," but they only share the same initial premise. The actual plot varies wildly from the classic Spanish novel.
- Onward! To adventure!
