LaRoy, Texas

I must say I like to give opinions of movies I have not heard of or read anything before, hence not having been influenced by critics or media in the first place. Well I'm afraid this one is far from what it may looks like. A good 10 minute start brings and offers promising plot, although right after the movie starts its descend to nowhere. A ridiculous Steve Zahn character combined with an excessive twisted plot, pushes the whole story to the edge of the cliff, where it finishes by falling into the abyss of boredom and grotesque. Yet the atmosphere and other characters like Dylan Baker and a good photography, may deserve some consideration, so I dare to give a 5,9 over 10, in the end. LaRoy, Texas results of an failed attempt of bringing back Fargo to live. The division line is clear; whilst Fargo is a tough and violent drama combining horror with bitterness humor, LaRoy Texas just end up being a whole dumb redneck game of useless characters trying but getting nowhere. Nope, not this one guys. Better try with small movies like Sweet Virginia (2017) or the more mainstream Three Billboards outside Edding (2017) , as they may keep the Fargo spirit with some better dignity.

I watched this on a plane solely due to Steve Zahn and well, there are so few good movies now, especially ones without some strange agenda. This fit the bill, but it is hit and miss. The lack of agenda is worth 2 stars all on its own.

As almost every review tells you, this goes far to basically ripoff the Coen Bros' Fargo. We have to give the creators credit for reaching for the sky in their borrowing. Fargo fumes + Zahn + Dylan Baker as a hit man are the saving graces.

Otherwise, the other main character, Ray, is a one-note completely moronic loser who seems to learn nothing from everything he goes through. Yes. He goes through a lot, but he was flatlined braindead.

The movie is fun to watch, from the beggining to the end. It keeps you guessing whats coming next. All the actors did great at their roles, the plot is very nice, the soundtrack is great and fitting at its scenes. The humor is on point, and its not exagerated. The first 25 minutes are the best and keeps you interested from whats going to do next. Middle is not so good as the first act and the end is nice, but not explendid.

Overall, I recommend this movie to everyone who likes a bit of humor and likes movies that made you think "things are terrible, it cant be worse", and them, it gets even worser than you thought it could be.

7.5/10.

A completely washed up loser, Ray (John Magaro) finds out his wife is having an affair and plans to kill himself. However he inadvertently gets mistaken for a hit man and is given a pile of cash. Through various circumstances he accidentally kills the target with the complex outcome involving his brother, wife, the real hit man and over confident wannabe PI Skip (Steve Zahn) causing him to be placed in all kinds of trouble.

Very Coenesque, this features a lot of sometimes fun, sometimes silly and annoying rather cliched caricatures as they attempt to extricate themselves from various situations. The film is saved by Zahn, funny as an idiot who thinks he's a smart PI and Dylan Baker as the real and merciless hit man. What frankly irks is Magaro's central character, so dumb and irritating that you just wish he'd go away. Some fun stuff here though, with a few clever plotting ideas making the who will prevail and who won't notion worth the wait to the climax where all is sorted one way or another.

1) LAROY, TEXAS doesn't look like a 2024 Holywood movie and i appreciated it. There are no "messages" here, script didn't obey to non-cinematic guidelines which have nothing to do with the Art of Cinema. This is an artistic creation, a real movie which told me a STORY. I can't take for granted even this nowadays, so i applaud the creators here just for this reason.

2) Unfortunately, it's flawed. First of all, its running time. If you want to create a 2 hours movie, you should make it interesting at least, from the beginning to the end. Especially when this is a dark comedy or comedy/drama/crime or something like this. This is not an Ingmar Bergman/Andrei Tarkovsky movie, this is a FARGO-esque. You will lose viewers' attention if you present them a 2 hours slow-paced movie which is kinda sad and miserable at times.

3) Having said that, overall this was not boring neither sad. There were many interesting moments, pace is getting better in the second half and Steve Zahn's presence made it more enjoyable. The last 40-50 minutes were much more enjoyable overall. Not the most convincing movie of the world, not everything made totally sense but i liked it. Unfortunately, it took too long for the movie to find its rhythm.

It's a well acted and well directed movie and i was this close to recommend it but i can't. Still, i cannot NOT recommend it either. Not a MUST WATCH, but enjoyable and watchable.