Comedian Adam Pally goes home again in the indie comedy meets murder mystery, Most Likely to Murder. TV writer Dan Gregor directs his Crazy Ex-Girlfriend collaborator (and real-life wife) Rachel Bloom in the likeably twisted genre film about revisiting your past through some very amateur detective work.
Pally's washed-up Billy returns to his Long Island hometown after years away looking to reclaim his old glory and once again reconnect with his high school ex-girlfriend Kara (Bloom). The formulaic and typical premise riffs on the Garden State formula with enough inventive and truly amusing twists including the murder plot (think Disturbia) at the crux of the story.
Enter the creepily eerie yet oddly charming Vincent Kartheiser as Billy's childhood neighbour and Kara's new beau and the concept comes together quickly enough to express the lingering sadness of Billy.
The material initially seems tired and predictable yet co-writer Doug Mand and Gregor's script largely makes it work. All of this is made better by actor John Reynolds and his straightforwardly hilarious cop demeanoir as Billy's other ex-girlfriend's husband and second antagonist.
The film gets to the point rather quickly and tries to mine some effective jokes and frankly sadness to make its story more than its somewhat standard premise. Many of the characters are varying levels of broken mixed with the usual small-town antics.
Pally's recent string of interesting independent comedies continues with another intriguing effort based on fun situations and performances. His sad sack loser schtick mixed with an unearned confidence and sarcastic bent that leads the genre-bending film nicely.
Gregor's film has a nice reverence for its characters and builds an amusing enough small-town world that's amusing wrapped in a fun murder plot. Gregor and Pally as old comedy partners mature and display a refreshingly juvenile form of growth for some pleasantly comedic adult situations.
Most Likely to Murder is available to stream on iTunes and through video on demand.
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