Larry leaving
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EightiesKid — 10 years ago(April 03, 2015 11:04 PM)
Poor Frank though! 64 (and an old tired looking one at that) and starting back at square one raising a little kid. He'd be in his early 80s by the time Cool got out of high school circa 2004 at 18, if he even was still alive.
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CoachGilligan — 10 years ago(May 31, 2015 06:58 PM)
Frank told Gil that you are never done being a parent. That's true but it doesn't always apply. Larry was a grown adult. He wasn't a kid who still had some growing up to do. This was Larry grown up, A selfish, irresponsible, immature screw up. If he hadn't gotten it together by that point he was never going to no matter what Frank did. He did the best thing he could by washing his hands of the hassle of just knowing Larry and saving Cool from having to deal with it at all.
Bucka bucka, Enzo wife yucka. -
EightiesKid — 10 years ago(June 09, 2015 04:19 PM)
In theory everyone's right about Larry being a loser and Frank's offer being more than fair and reasonableBUT knowing what kind of hardcore bad guys these bookies chasing after Larry were, do you really think they'd accept the installment payments Frank was proposing? More than likely they'd want all their money now, and I honestly wouldn't put it past them to even roughhouse Frank to get it if they couldn't find Larry.
In a weird way, Larry's taking off may have even protected Frank and his wife, and Cool, from any danger if they were focused on finding Larry instead? I don't think Frank understood HOW dangerous these guys actually were. -
al666940 — 10 years ago(December 24, 2015 01:54 PM)
"do you really think they'd accept the installment payments Frank was proposing?"
Gangsters were (apparently) more restrained back in those days (unlike now where most criminal rings are also into drugs and thus don't give a rat's butt about landing in jail), especially the ones running book (where you need brains and low key to pass undetected). Plus if they were Italians, chances are (back then) they wanted to keep up a pretence of being part of the community (like John Gotti with his Robin Hood antics) and thus would avoid going after innocent people whom also happen to be elder citizens (the cops usually don't turn a blind eye to such things).
Like loan sharks: back then they would break your thumb or an arm if you fell behind but leave you alive so you could keep paying (you know, not kill the golden goose). Today they just kill you outright (since people today are much more likely to snitch and most criminals no longer care about long game).
The fact that they dropped off Larry unharmed (even if they bounced him off the car while in motion) indicates they are not that really hardcore. Otherwise Larry would already be missing fingers or something (like Sean Penn in U-Turn, now THOSE were hardcore gangsters).
So in that time and setting, it made perfect sense. -
plakpostzegel — 10 years ago(December 01, 2015 04:30 PM)
His dad finally realised whatever he did, Larry would leave. Had he agreed to stay he would have left within a couple of months. Also, for me, the father is so disappointed in his son, who doesn't even consider Cool when moving to chili. He realises his loss.
Jason Robard should have gotten an oscar for that scene, somehow without talking much he makes it such an emotional scene. Gives me chills everytime I see it. -
Rytman — 10 years ago(March 26, 2016 11:26 AM)
Either that, or just say "No. You are a grown man who made bad choices and got yourself in a load of trouble. You either accept my plan, or you take your chances with the bookies/gangsters/loan sharks."
Doing what he did just enabled him to keep on making poor decisions, then running home/or to someone else to bail him out when he did it again.
And remember, didn't Frank tell Gill he was going to retire soon, but he couldn't because cleaning up Larry's mess set him back years, not to mention taking care of a little kid now? You think Larry appreciated or even cared about that?? Pfft. -
coupleofflakes2 — 9 years ago(July 11, 2016 11:03 AM)
I can see where you're coming from, because for most of the movie the father is defending Larry, telling the mother "Quick is the best way to get rich!" etc. He's practically cheering his son on and definitely enabling him to make poor decisions.
I think it was the scene with his classic car that finally made him wake up to the fact his son was a liar and a loser, but by that point he had already spent so much time encouraging his son. Maybe part of the reason he's so quiet and resolved in this scene is because he realizes his son's behaviour is partially his own fault. -
stevenackerman69 — 9 years ago(November 11, 2016 06:15 PM)
I think Frank was giving Larry a "take it or leave it" thing. If Larry left, Frank was certainly not going to help him and worry about him anymore. It is like taking the chick, bringing him to the edge of the nest, kicking him over, and letting him fly away or crash to his death in the ground. He realized that Larry really didn't want help, but the freedom to keep on losing. Well, Frank no longer wanted to be a part of that and decided that if Larry was going to leave, leave, but not to come crawling back to him again.
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Blizzard_Beasts — 9 years ago(January 23, 2017 08:21 PM)
This doesn't really have anything to do with Larry, but wasn't Larry's debt around $25,000 that his dad agreed to pay? He then told Gil, "I have the money but it's gonna hurt." How much do you think he actually saved for retirement if $25,000 would hurt him so much? You would think he would have A LOT more than that saved up if he was going to retire, right? Otherwise, how would he be planning to retire?