Believable quirk, untenable concept
DVD Release Date: Feb. 5
Director: Craig Zobel
Writers: George Smith and Craig Zobel
Cinematographer: Adam Stone
Starring: Pat Healy and Kene Holliday
Studio/Run Time: Magnolia Home Entertainment, 106 mins.
Homestar Runner co-creator Craig Zobel makes his directorial debut with Great World of Sound, a mildly quirky tale of two guys scamming on behalf of a shady production company. But with opening credit shots of records being spray-painted gold, the audience is in on the bigger scam the whole time, leaving only space to gawk at how gullible Martin (Pat Healy) and Clarence (Kene Holliday) are at each turn. Nonetheless, the premise makes for a good story, despite nearly constant disbelief. Healy, especially, is believable, his totally blank face an irreducible mirror for his complete lack of backstory. Several times, the pair fails to be drawn into fascinating subplots involving their marks, a cavalcade of untainted musicians far from the culture’s centers of media and, apparently, without access to the Internet or any concept of how the music business works. Both veteran TV actors, Healy and Holliday entertain with chemistry, if only that.