''A Little Help'' is a 2010 American comedy-drama film written and directed by
Michael J. Weithorn
Michael J. Weithorn is an American writer, director, and producer whose works include the long-running sitcom ''The King of Queens''.
Early life
Weithorn was raised first in the Fresh Meadows neighborhood of the New York City borough of Queens, ...
. 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
The Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF), held annually in Seattle, Washington since 1976, is among the top film festivals in North America. Audiences have grown steadily; the 2006 festival had 160,000 attendees. The SIFF runs for more th ...
. In the Fall of 2010, the film won the
Best Narrative Feature film at the
San Diego Film Festival
The San Diego International Film Festival (SDIFF) is an independent film festival in San Diego, California produced by the non-profit San Diego Film Foundation. The main event has traditionally been held annually in the autumn at venues in the ...
.
This was
Ron Leibman
Ron Leibman (; October 11, 1937 – December 6, 2019) was an American actor. He won both the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play in 1993 for his performance as Roy Cohn in ''Angels in Amer ...
's final film role before his death on December 6, 2019.
Plot
Laura Pehlke is married to Bob and together they raise their 12-year-old son, Dennis. Laura is a dental hygienist and Bob works in a real estate office and often comes home late. The family goes to a birthday barbecue for Laura's twin niece and nephew. 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 collapses on the road. After a brief examination, the doctor says Bob has had a panic attack. Later that night, Laura begins to perform
fellatio
Fellatio (also known as fellation, and in slang as blowjob, BJ, giving head, or sucking off) is an oral sex act involving a person stimulating the penis of another person by using the mouth, throat, or both. Oral stimulation of the scrotu ...
on Bob during which he has another attack from which he dies, and his condition is later diagnosed as
arrhythmia.
Laura's sister, Kathy Helms, and mother Joan, are overbearing in their attempts to help Laura manage her life. Kathy insists Laura go to a lawyer to discuss her economic state. The lawyer claims the only way to get by with the money they have is to sue the doctor. Reluctantly, Laura cooperates. During the process, Bob's secretary admits to having an affair with him.
Laura's nephew, Kyle Helms, is an enthusiastic guitarist, and his father, Paul, supports him but Kathy thinks it hinders his academic future. She dismisses the garage band Kyle formed with his friends. Paul, a radio station employee, takes Kyle with him to see
Dion DiMucci
Dion Francis DiMucci (born July 18, 1939), better known simply as Dion, is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. His music has incorporated elements of doo-wop, pop, rock, R&B, folk and blues. Initially as the lead singer of Dion and t ...
, who is visiting the station. After the program Kyle and Dion meet and play together.
Dennis moves to a private school on the insistence of Joan. In order to gain popularity with the kids at the new school, he lies and says his father died in the
September 11 attacks
The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commer ...
while saving lives as a fireman. Laura confronts her son and criticizes his lying but he persuades her to back up his story and she ends up repeating the story to his class.
Dennis goes to a friend's birthday party, where he gets a
body painting
Body painting is a form of body art where artwork is painted directly onto the human skin. Unlike tattoos and other forms of body art, body painting is temporary, lasting several hours or sometimes up to a few weeks (in the case of mehndi or " ...
of the burning
World Trade Center
World Trade Centers are sites recognized by the World Trade Centers Association.
World Trade Center may refer to:
Buildings
* List of World Trade Centers
* World Trade Center (2001–present), a building complex that includes five skyscrapers, a ...
on his back. A kid who knew Dennis from summer camp happens to be at the party and he tells the other kids Dennis has been lying. Meanwhile, Laura coincidentally meets the birthday kid's mom at a gas station, and learns of the camp friend attending the party. Realizing the truth about Dennis' father will come out, she rushes to the party, but arriving too late to prevent the damage, finds her son sitting alone and crying, ostracized by the group.
One night Paul and Laura happen to be in the yard together, where they smoke pot and talk. Paul confesses he has 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" by returning the ball. Some days later, Laura calls Paul at 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 moves away a little, he comes after her, tells her she is beautiful, and they kiss.
As events unfold, Laura eventually has a breakthrough moment and we see her begin to take control of her own life, and the beginning of her healing and moving on.
Cast
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Little Help
2010 films
2010 comedy-drama films
American comedy-drama films
Films set in Long Island
2010 directorial debut films
2010s English-language films
2010s American films