Most Likely To Murder | SXSW 2018 Film Review

Apparently the buzzword around SXSW this year is “Rear Window”, as several films playing at the festival utilized the Hitchcockian classic about a disabled man solving a murder through his bedroom window as a selling point to put butts in seats (one that works like a charm, by the way). Therefore, walking into Most Likely to Murder, an easy allegory was made by the simple phrase dropped in the description: it’s like Rear Window…for stoners.

Billy (Adam Pally) is that guy we all knew in high school. A jock, all-star mini-bully with lofty ambitions and a mediocre skillset, Billy left his small-town for Las Vegas years ago. Though he proclaims to anyone who will listen that he is constantly shaking hands and making deals, Billy is nothing more than a glorified janitor. Returning home for Thanksgiving, he’s anxious to recapture a bit of those glory days by surrounding himself with the same friends who worshipped him in his teenage years.

Unfortunately, while Billy’s maturity peaked in Kindergarten, the remainder of his friends have grown both personally as well as in relationship status. In particular, Kara (Rachel Bloom) – aka “the one that got away” – has kicked her life of drunken debauchery to the curb and begun to settle down with Billy’s neighbor, resident nice guy, Lowell (Vincent Kartheiser). After another of Billy’s drunken binges, he arrives home late at night to find Lowell mysteriously lurking about, only to discover the next morning that Lowell’s mother passed away that very same evening. Once he realizes that Lowell’s account of his whereabouts fail to match the truth, Billy sets off on a quest to prove Lowell, in fact, murdered his mother.

An affable comedy, there is nothing inherently wrong with Most Likely to Murder. It contains a unique hook fully on display from writers Doug Mand and Dan Gregor (whom also directed), and most of the cast deftly handles the material. Unfortunately, there is also nothing that separates the film from other mundane comedies in the same vein. In fact, this is a film that is the very definition of “fine”. It’s an often entertaining watch, well-paced in its execution, yet instantly forgettable.

While films like So I Murdered an Axe Murderer utilized Mike Myers’ brilliant schtick to elevate the mediocre story, Adam Pally’s Billy never quite rises to that occasion, and this is where the film’s struggles begin to shine. While Pally is a solid actor, this is simply not suited to his wheelhouse. The film screams for a talent along the lines of Adam Sandler in his heyday, a simpering man-child whose incessant failures are masked by his infinite charm and ineptitude. Pally never quite accomplishes what the script demands, and ultimately that is what keeps the story from ever leaping off of the page.

The resolution is legitimately clever, and while the film’s aspirations of a “Rear Window for stoners” is never quite attained, you could do far worse than an average comedy with engaging actors and enough smiles to carry you through. Most Likely to Murder is more than likely to entertain, though less than likely to remain with you much longer than it takes you to hit the parking lot.