A Little Help
| A Little Help | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Michael J. Weithorn |
| Produced by |
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| Written by | Michael J. Weithorn |
| Starring |
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Production company |
Secret Handshake Entertainment |
| Distributed by | Freestyle Releasing[1] |
Release dates |
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Running time | 109 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $96,868[2] |
A Little Help is a 2010 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Michael J. Weithorn. It follows the experiences of a dental hygienist following her unfaithful husband's sudden death. It debuted on May 21, 2010 at the Seattle International Film Festival.[3]
Plot
Laura Pehlke (Jenna Fischer) is married to Bob (Chris O'Donnell) and together they raise their 12 year-old son Dennis (Daniel Yelsky). Laura is a dental hygienist and Bob works in a real estate office and comes home late. The family goes to a birthday barbecue of Laura's twin nieces. Laura suspects Bob is cheating on her and they get into a fight. She runs away from the house and Bob runs after her and suddenly falls on the road. After a brief examination the doctor says he had a panic attack. Later that night Laura tries to have sex with Bob and during a blowjob he has another stroke and he dies, later diagnosed as arrhythmia. Laura's sister, Kathy Helms (Brooke Smith) makes her go to a lawyer to discuss her economic state. The lawyer claims the only way to get along with the money they have is suing the doctor. Reluctantly, Laura cooperates. During the process Bob secretary admits having an affair with him.
Laura's nephew, Kyle Helms, is an enthusiastic guitarist, his father supports him but his mother thinks it dangers his academic future. She dismisses the garage band Kyle made with his friends. One day his father, a radio worker, takes Kyle with him to see Dion DiMucci visits the radio program. After the program Kyle and Dion meet and play together.
Dennis moves to a new school and in order to get popular he says his father died in September 11 attacks while saving lives as a fireman. Laura confronts her son and criticise his action but he persuades her to back him up and she ends up telling the story to his class. Some day afterwards Dennis goes to a birthday party of a friend and he gets a body painting of the World Trade Center burning on his back. A kid knowing Dennis from summer camp happened to be at the party and he told the other kids Dennis is lying. Laura accidentally met the kid's mom in a gas station and she rushed to the party to prevent damage, only to find her son crying.
Paul Helms (Rob Benedict) is married to Kathy, Laura's sister. One night he and Laura happen to be on the yard together, they smoke pot and talk. Paul confesses he had a crush on Laura since school and he married Kathy just to get something similar to Laura, which turned out to be a mistake. Back in high school he tried to get her attention by throwing a tennis ball over the fence and asking her for "a little help". Some day later Laura calls Paul in work and invites him to meet her. She tells Paul she regrets not returning the balls back in high school, because now she feels about him like he felt about her. She gets away a little, he comes after her, tells her she is beautiful and they kiss.
Cast
- Jenna Fischer as Laura Pehlke
- Chris O'Donnell as Bob Pehlke
- Daniel Yelsky as Dennis Pehlke
- Rob Benedict as Paul Helms
- Brooke Smith as Kathy Helms
- Zach Page as Kyle Helms
- Kim Coates as Mel Kaminsky
- Leslie Ann Warren as Joan Dunning
- Ron Leibman as Warren Dunning
- Arden Myrin as Ms. Gallagher
- Aida Turturro as Nancy Feldman
- James Rebhorn as Dr. Bronstein
- Joy Suprano as Julie Cantoni
- Sam McMurray as Big Bad Dan
- Dion DiMucci as himself
References
- ↑ "A Little Help". Freestyle Releasing.
- ↑ "A Little Help (2011)". Box Office Mojo. 2011-08-03. Retrieved 2013-05-21.
- ↑ Seattle International Film Festival