'Larry the Cable Guy's' lame plot is a disconnect

Tuesday, March 28, 2006

By CHRISTY LEMIRE
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Protracted flatulence jokes, graphic poop gags, exposed butt cracks, group projectile vomiting. Is it any wonder "Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector" wasn't shown to critics before opening?

MOVIE REVIEW

LARRY THE CABLE GUY: HEALTH INSPECTOR

DIRECTOR: Trent Cooper

CAST: Larry the Cable Guy, Iris Bahr, Joanna Cassidy, Megyn Price

RUNNING TIME: 89 minutes

RATING: PG-13 for crude and sexual content, and for language

WHERE: Alderwood 7, Cinema 17, Everett 9, Galaxy Monroe 12, Gateway 8, Issaquah 9, Kent Station, Lincoln Square Cinemas, Longston Place 14, Marysville 14, Meridian 16, Mountlake 9, Parkway Plaza 12, Redmond Town Center, Renton Village, Woodinville 12

GRADE: D

The same people who double over laughing at such sophomoric humor don't read reviews -- and anyway, in a movie like this, we all know what to expect.

What is surprising and worth noting, though, is the quality of talent that's sadly squandered in comedian Larry the Cable Guy's feature film debut.

Joe Pantoliano plays a shady mayor who's breast-obsessed. Tony Hale (Buster Bluth from "Arrested Development"), one of Larry's co-workers, sits in a wheelchair and has beer spilled on him. David Koechner ("Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy") plays the "semiretarded neighbor," as Larry so lovingly calls him.

And Kid Rock shows up, as himself, only to offer beer and a fishing rod to Larry in a dream sequence.

Then, of course, there is Larry (real name: Dan Whitney) who has turned himself into a sort of redneck superstar through radio appearances and stand-up comedy concerts. Those expecting a Larry-the-Cable-Guy show in film form, sort of like the "Blue Collar Comedy Tour" documentary from a few years back, will be disappointed. Director Trent Cooper and writers Jonathan Bernstein and James Greer actually try to shoehorn Larry into a lame plot in which he functions as an inept health inspector.