This is the story of the “weird guy” who can be found in every organization. He or she may be in an office, on the factory floor, or in the classroom. But wherever they are, personal eccentricities mean they’re not quite a normal fit.
Susan (Patty Guggenheim) has worked hard at Goodlakes Cruises, a travel corporation, and CEO Bruce (Ed Begley Jr.) recognizes that. After all these years, he is retiring. But then, out of the blue, he calls in Larry (Kiel Kennedy) to work at Goodlakes and Carol soon realizes Larry has absolutely no experience in the field, especially compared to her eight years as top employee.
A retirement party has been scheduled for that evening on the roof of the building and Carol decides that this new guy will not be invited. Bruce announces that Susan will replace him as Chief Executive Officer.
However, the next day Bruce wants to know why Larry wasn’t at the party and tells Carol that Larry is, in fact, the product of a one night stand Bruce had 40 years ago. But now that Larry’s mother is dead, Bruce hunted him down and hired him – keeping their relationship a secret even from Larry. And, Bruce has decided to make Larry the CEO instead of Carol. When she responds by throwing a paperweight at him, missing but cracking a window, he fires her.
This starts off a madcap adventure as Carol, assisted by her weakling co-worker Patrick (Kenneth Mosley), schemes to regain her lost position. However, one mishap after another keeps her from attaining her goal and, bizarrely, makes Larry think she and Patrick are his best friends.
Written and directed by Greg Porper (“Bad Dad”) and John Schimke (“Perfect Plan”), “Don’t Tell Larry” features one strange event after another, beginning with Bruce suffering a sudden attack of vertigo and falling to his death through a window previously cracked by Carol. So no one knows she was fired or that Larry is supposed to have inherited the CEO position.
The writing is clever, although there is a lot of sophomoric sex talk, mostly by unbalanced man-child Larry. Otherwise, the story bounces from one thwarted attempt to undermine Larry to another. The acting is at times also a bit childish, but then every character is immature in one way or another.
Kiel Kennedy is something of a standout as the unstable, potentially violent but at the same time childishly trusting weirdo who has upset Carol’s plans. His is the perfect combination of traits one would expect from the office misfit.
Silly sex talk and moderate violence might offend some, but overall this is a fun flick.
Runtime: One hour, 37 minutes
Availability: Limited release on June 20, 2025
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