Most Likely to Murder
By Renee Schonfeld,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Raunchy comedy about dim man-child; cursing, nudity, drugs.
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Most Likely to Murder
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What's the Story?
MOST LIKELY TO MURDER finds Billy Green (Adam Pally), a 20-something wannabe big shot, returning to his Long Island hometown for Thanksgiving. There he encounters Kara (Rachel Bloom), the angry girl he left behind; Duane (Doug Mand), his dim-bulb best friend; and Lowell (Vincent Kartheiser), the man he tormented when they were teens. Desperate for respect and to maintain his "coolest guy in high school" reputation, Billy is more than a bit distressed to find that Kara and Lowell are a budding couple. Lowell has always grossed Billy out. And he does so again. Particularly when he sees Lowell, now a pharmacist, behaving strangely on the very night the quirky fellow's mother dies in her sleep. Billy's suspicions mount; his need to prove that a murder may have happened escalates, so assorted old high school chums get involved, including the police lieutenant now married to one of Billy's rumored sexual conquests. Comic mayhem ensues.
Is It Any Good?
A nonsensical story filled with one-note dimwits and laden with raunchy language, drinking, and sexual antics (at the expense of women), this "comedy" is driven by farcical mean-spiritedness. The in-your-face, unsympathetic hero of this film has a typical persona: He peaked in high school and it has been downhill ever since. In a movie like Most Likely to Murder, it's essential that audiences like the comic hero despite his obvious flaws. Is Billy Green likable? Though Adam Pally gives his all -- a performance without a shred of vanity -- the character simply doesn't have any redeeming virtues, and Pally doesn't have the twinkle in his eye that audiences respond to in some other "jaded" comic performers. Still, there's enough fun in this bawdy effort to satisfy those who don't mind all-out inanity and easy laughs.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the profanity and swearing in Most Likely to Murder. Does it ever become repetitive or ineffective? How much is too much for your personal taste? How does it (or how does it not) serve the story?
Think about the female roles in this film. Other than as sexual partners or objects of sexual ridicule, how did they impact the story? Talk about the three mothers in the film. What, if any, positive qualities did they exhibit?
Did you notice the music in the film? How did the music accentuate the cartoonish quality of the movie? How does music set the tone in movies -- both comedic and dramatic?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming: May 1, 2018
- Cast: Adam Pally , Rachel Bloom , Vincent Kartheiser
- Director: Dan Greg
- Studio: Lionsgate
- Genre: Comedy
- Topics: Friendship , High School
- Run time: 90 minutes
- MPAA rating: R
- MPAA explanation: crude sexual content, language throughout, some graphic nudity, and drug material
- Last updated: June 20, 2023
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