LaRoy, Texas – Review

Country songs twang on the radio while Harry (Baker) drives through the night on a lonesome highway. He passes an old truck with the hood popped, but no driver. Then a few moments later, there is a burly looking hitchhiker who stops the passing car. Harry asks if things are okay and the man asks for a lift. Off to an ominous start…

The men have a slightly contentious conversation as Harry putters down the dark road. Or, maybe this stranger is just making a joke… The man flips off the country music. Harry doesn’t love that. The small talk conversation then flips on its head. Just who are these men actually?

As the film introduces new players, the action shifts to LaRoy, a small depressed town in Texas. Business buildings are run down, or even fully shuttered. Ray Jepsen (Magaro), of Jepsen’s Home & Hardware, walks into a diner, following the instructions of a hand-written note. He meets with Skip Roche (Zahn), who is in his cowboy hat. Skip used to play pool with Ray’s brother Junior (Del Negro), but says he is now a private investigator.

Skip says he was on a divorce case, and saw something Ray would find interesting, while handing him some photos. Ugh. They are of Stacy-Lynn (Stevenson), his wife, coming out of a motel room. Ray is not happy, but wonders why the pictures were even taken.

These introduced threads begin to weave a small-town crime tale of money, love, betrayal, murder, mayhem, jealousy, mistaken identity, beauty queens and more. There is a dark comedy edge, as well as some fun and interesting plot beats. While it may not revolutionize the lower budget crime picture, this one is entertaining enough to give it a go.