On the Saturday August 30, 2025 edition of The Richard Crouse Show we meet Lauren Holly. You know her from television shows like “Picket Fences,” “NCIS” and “Motive,” among many others. On the big screen you’ve seen her as Mary Swanson, the wealthy but troubled heiress, in the comedy “Dumb and Dumber,” as trophy wife Cindy Rooney opposite Dennis Quaid in “Any Given Sunday,” and many others in a career that spans forty years, and includes comedies like “The Adventures of Ford Fairlane” and “What Women Want,” action movies like “Crank: High Voltage” and dramas like “Chicago Hope.”
She joins me today to talk about “Loathe Thy Neighbor,” a new project very near and dear to her heart. The film, which begins in theatres on August 29, follows Will Larkfield, played by Brennan Clost, a young man forced to relocate to his late father’s farm as part of an unexpected inheritance. What begins as a simple missing package soon spirals into a battle of wills with Lauren Holly’s character, the neighbor from hell, Wanda Bellerose, reminding us that sometimes the smallest problems cause the biggest messes.
Then, guest James Webb tells his an incredible story. Hailing from Australia, he’s a competitive eater, ranked fourth in the world. He has shattered records, by devouring 59.5 donuts in one sitting and taking on the biggest names in the sport.
After overcoming a near-paralyzing illness, James has risen to become the “Champion of the Southern Hemisphere,” with his sights set on dethroning the legendary Joey Chestnut at the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest. Today we’re talking about competitive eating as a sport, how he prepares and the documentary “James Can Eat,” his story of resilience, obsession, and jaw-dropping feats will leave you hungry for more!
Each week on the nationally syndicated Richard Crouse Show, Canada’s most recognized movie critic brings together some of the most interesting and opinionated people from the movies, television and music to put a fresh spin on news from the world of lifestyle and pop-culture. Tune into this show to hear in-depth interviews with actors and directors, to find out what’s going on behind the scenes of your favourite shows and movies and get a new take on current trends. Recent guests include Chris Pratt, Elvis Costello, Baz Luhrmann, Martin Freeman, David Cronenberg, Mayim Bialik, The Kids in the Hall and many more!
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SYNOPSIS: “Loathe Thy Neighbor” sees a recently relocated city slicker in a battle of wills with his new country neighbor. “Lost my father, lost my job,” says Will Larkfield (Brennan Clost), “and now I’m losing my mind.”
REVIEW: A dark riff on “Green Acres,” “Loathe Thy Neighbor” is more than the standard fish-out-of-water story. What begins as a “citidiot” in the country tale, slowly reveals itself to be a lesson in community and personal growth.
When Will Larkfield (Brennan Clost) inherits his estranged father’s rundown farm he sticks out like a sore thumb in the rural community. Vegetraian, allergic to everything and anxiety-prone, the locals don’t quite know what to make of him. They refer to him as him an “aristocrat,” and regard him with suspicion. No one more so than his next-door neighbor/bee-keeper Wanda Bellerose (Lauren Holly), who takes an instant, intense dislike to the city slicker. “He moved here a couple of days ago and he’s already ruining my damn life,” she says.
As a dispute over the mis-delivery of an EpiPen escalates, Will takes to referring to Wanda as a deranged lunatic,” while she calls him a “Yuppie on a stick,” and threatens to “roast [him] like a holiday ham.”
And that’s before things turn really ugly between the two.
Character-driven, “Loathe Thy Neighbor” plays on established tropes—the neurotic city guy vs. the tough-as-nails country person—to set up the story of petty grievances, nasty neighbors and, ultimately, growth and resilience.
Clost and Holly embrace their edgy characters. Constant conflict fuels their behavior, pushing them to extremes, but, as good as they are, it plays as one dimensional. It’s a clash of cultures, city vs. country, and when the insults are flying, it’s a bit of fun, but the level of animosity is never truly examined. They fundamentally just don’t like one another, and the film doesn’t dig much deeper than that before setting up its rushed redemption arc.
Still, as a story of putting aside our differences and learning to co-exist, “Loathe Thy Neighbor” spreads some good, neighborly vibes.
At the bar Tammy (Felicity Huffman) is what’s known as a character. “I’m not a good person,” she says. “I’m a good time.” She’s always the life of the party, with a drink in her hand and a quip on her lips. When she’s too broke to afford booze she’s making her daughter Kathy’s (Anastasia Phillips) life miserable. Every month, when the money from her welfare cheque has run dry, Tammy goes through the same charade of marching down to the local bridge with the intention of ending it all. Kathy inevitably comes to the rescue and life goes on, repeating the cycle day in and out.
Kathy’s only respite from her mother’s lifestyle is a game of make believe she plays with her boss and old family friend, Doug (Clark Johnson). The two get dolled up, head to a fancy city bar and role play, pretending to be other, happier people. Their friendly bartender Jamie (Kristian Bruun) is in on the joke, and always goes along for the ride.
Just when it seems that Kathy is able to step away from the shadow of her mother’s influence, Tammy is diagnosed with terminal cancer. As a caregiver she’s drawn back into Tammy’s chaotic orbit but salvation may be around the corner. Television host Gordon Baker (Ali Hassan), a mix-and-match of Jerry Springer and Dr. Phil, is interested in the trashy aspects of Kathy’s story, and if she tells it well enough—with tears and all—he’s willing to make it worth her while.
“Tammy’s Always Dying” is a compelling character study anchored by remarkable performances. Huffman, almost unrecognizable as the narcissistic title character, makes sure that Tammy isn’t just a drunken spectacle, staggering through the film with a cigarette in one hand and a drink in the other. She brings humanity to a character who could have been a foul-mouthed Foster Brooks style caricature. As Kathy, Phillips finds the balance between heartfelt love for her mother and hatred for the way she has been treated. It’s a tricky balance but Phillips finds it in a carefully calibrated performance that generates much sympathy as Kathy carves a future for herself despite dire circumstances.
It’s not all doom and gloom. Bruun and Johnson provide a respite from the misery, giving the film two characters who try and improve Kathy’s life without controlling her.
In the hands of actor-turned-director Amy Jo Johnson (working from a script by Joanne Sarazen) “Tammy’s Always Dying” transcends poverty porn by presenting characters whose struggles feel real and fully realized. It’s a tough talking movie—“Killing herself would be the least selfish thing she’s ever done!”—that, underneath its bluster, has a tender beating heart.
Like the love child of “The Devil Wears Prada,” “Twelfth Night” and “Cinderella”—I know that doesn’t make sense, but either does much of this movie—“After the Ball” is a modern day fairy tale set against the backdrop of the fashion industry.
Portia Doubleday stars as fashion grad Kate Kassel. From the outside she seems to have it all, talent, drive and a father (Chris Noth) who is the CEO of a fashion line. Trouble is, the family name has been sullied in recent years and no one will hire her. Fashionable hat in hand she begs for a job at the family business, now being run by her evil stepmother (Lauren Holly) and talentless, vindictive stepsisters (Natalie Krill and Anna Hopkins). Her obvious talent doesn’t endear her to the sisters and soon she is framed for fashion theft and fired. Determined to set things right, and save the business, she dons a disguise—she’s now Nate—and returns to the fold.
The movie’s influences are beyond obvious—Kate is the princess, get it?—and there aren’t many surprises in the retelling of this light and fluffy commercial tale and while it is a movie probably best suited to the small screen VOD experience that doesn’t negate its modest charms.
“After the Ball” tries a bit too hard to please, but Doubleday has good chemistry with love interest/prince charming Marc-André Grondin and Holly has some one-dimensional fun as the villainous stepmother. Carlo Rota’s Stanley Tucci impression, however, brings us back to earth, reminding us we’re watching a copy of the kind of top-of-the-line rom coms that feature aerial views of Manhattan in their opening moments.
