Too Late Review: A Standup Show That Has Style But Not Enough Horror Or Comedy

Release date: June 25, 2021
Running time: 80 minutes
Directed By: D.W. Thomas 
Written By: Tom Becker
Starring: Alyssa Limperis (Aunty Donna's Big Ol' House of Fun), Ron Lynch (Bob’s Burgers, Adventure Time), Will Weldon (Comedy Central’s This Isn’t Happening), Mary Lynn Rajskub (24, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia), Fred Armisen (SNL, Portlandia), Jenny Zigrino (Bad Santa 2, 50 Shades of Black), Jack De Sena (Avatar: The Last Airbender), and Brooks Wheelan (SNL).

This cozy horror comedy set in the Los Angeles indie comedy scene features Violet Fields who works a thankless job as the assistant to Bob Devore, famed comedian and host of the live variety show, Too Late. But what only Violet knows is that Bob is a monster both literally and figuratively. Resigned to her fate, Violet is caught by surprise when she meets aspiring comedian Jimmy Rhodes and sparks fly. But as her feelings for Jimmy grow and Bob starts to doubt her loyalty, she and Jimmy could end up as Bob’s next meal.

Too Late was a tough movie to judge, because I like the general idea of the movie and the cast.  The film has a lot of very funny people put in both silly and serious predicaments, and the film does have a nice balance of horror and comedic situations.  I liked Limperis as Violet with and especially liked Ron Lynch as Bob.  Their dynamic was enjoyable to watch and although he treated Violet like garbage, he was a character and definitely had an air about him.  The film also tells an important metaphor about show business and how difficult it is to break in.  There are characters who work horrible hours, odd conditions, and in constant fear of losing their job all for the chance to get their big break .  And the story of Too Late has a style; I especially liked seeing the doctored photos that were created to chronicle Bob's life.  It feels like there could have been more to tell here if the film had more time and money, but alas, it just existed in some props on set and the credits sequence.  

However, the problem with Too Late is that it is just not a funny movie.  For a film about comedians with a comedic cast, I didn't find myself laughing at all.  And even the standup sections, which should be comedic gold, just felt phoned in.  There were some funny jokes in there, but the overall humor was lukewarm to me.  And that is a major problem with a movie that bills itself as a horror comedy.  The cast is great and is full of major comics, but the film itself just didn't hit the comedy side of things.  And on the horror side of it, the film has some good practical effects, but overall there is not enough horror either.  The movie has some horror elements, but these are less pronounced and scary than I would have hoped.  So overall you have a horror comedy that does not have enough horror or comedy.  I think the cast did a fine job and I liked the underlying message, but this just didn't seem like a standup show I wanted to stay to see.

Too Late has a great cast and plenty of style, but the film doesn't quite hit on the horror or comedy part of its horror comedy billing.

Pass on it.

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Too Late is in theaters, digitally, and on demand on June 25, 2021 .  

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