Better Late Than Never on "Don't Tell Larry"
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The other day while I was searching for a movie to watch I came across a recent-ish indie comedy called "Don't Tell Larry". I had never heard of it before, so I watched the trailer attached to the movie. It piqued my interest. I also saw that Ed Begley Jr had a role in it and Patty Guggenheim was the main character. Guggenheim falls into the same territory with me as Johnny Pemberton. I enjoy both of their work, and feel like they should be starring in more content, be it tv shows or movies. So I hit play and sat back for the next 90 minutes and watched.
Right off the bat, I found myself enjoying the movie. It is by no means the best movie in the world. It isn't some kind of breakthrough comedy, but I still found plenty of laughs and had a good time with the movie. The movie stars Guggenheim who is the potential next CEO at a travel agency and she is just biding her time before getting the job. Ed Begley Jr is her superior, and he is about to retire, leaving the door open for Guggenheim to take over. We meet Kenneth Mosely at the beginning of the movie, and he plays Guggenheimn's buddy at the office. We also meet Larry, played by Kiel Kennedy. Larry is a weird dude. He eats raisins with his pencil. He doesn't know much about the business. He is too overzealous and needy. We quickly come to find out that he is Ed Begley Jr's long lost son. And Begley wants to make him the new CEO. Prior to this, Guggenheim throws him a retirement party, but doesn't invite Larry. She gets bad vibes from him. The party goes off without a hitch, but Begley notices and brings up that Larry wasn't there the day after the party. This is where we find out he is his son and that he wants to make him CEO. Guggenheim is obviously upset at this news, and goes off on Begley. It is so bad that she throws a rock at his window and Begley relieves her of her duties. But as she is about to pack up and leave, we hear a scream from Begley's office and we find out he has fallen out of his window to his death.
The movie kind of takes off from here. It turns into a crime caper type movie, but with a ton of jokes peppered throughout everything. It was kind of cool to see a throwback comedy like this. The movie never takes itself seriously. The people involved understood the assignment and they ran with it. The scene with the drug tester is hilarious. We eventually meet Larry's Nana, played by Paula Rafferty. She doesn't have too many lines in the movie, but when she does speak it serves a purpose and this actor nailed it. We get a whole lot more from Mosley during the second half of the movie and I found him to be the funniest person in the whole thing. Dot-Marie Jones plays the detective that is sent to work on the case in the office, and she is wonderful. The scene between her and Guggenheim near the end is great, until some even crazier stuff happens. But it was Kennedy, playing Larry, who really stole the show. He is so off putting and creepy, but also funny. There were times when I really disliked him, but then would switch to feeling bad for him. The stuff between him and his nana was hilarious. And when Kennedy had to turn the creepy on, in the final act of the movie, he absolutely nailed it. The last image of him I found haunting and hilarious. He really pulled off something very intriguing here. And it was nice to see Guggenheim get to do her thing. She is so funny and easy to watch on screen. I hope this will get her more starring work soon.
In the end, "Don't Tell Larry" is a fun and easy movie to put on and enjoy. I recommend it to comedy fans who want to see something a little off beat, a little different and akin to a throwback comedy from the 80's. I say check it out.
Ty
Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.
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