Killer Diller (2004)

61% of users liked it
(1,916 ratings)

A musician who is supposed to mend his ways ends up changing the habits of a group of fellow inmates in this comedy. Wesley Benfield (William Lee Scott) is a guitar player with a habit of walking on the wrong side of the law. One night, Benfield gets into a fistfight in a Missouri honky-tonk, and… More A musician who is supposed to mend his ways ends up changing the habits of a group of fellow inmates in this comedy. Wesley Benfield (William Lee Scott) is a guitar player with a habit of walking on the wrong side of the law. One night, Benfield gets into a fistfight in a Missouri honky-tonk, and when police discover the car he drove to the club is stolen, it's not long before he finds himself standing before a judge. Benfield is ordered to move into a half-way house near a small Baptist college, and as part of his therapy he joins in a small gospel combo comprised of the house's residents. However, Benfield is a lot more interested in playing the blues; with a bit of persuading, he convinces his bandmates to pursue a new musical direction, and they start sneaking out at night to play shows at a local nightspot. Killer Diller co-stars Fred Willard, Lucas Black, John Michael Higgins, Mary Kay Place, and veteran blues artist Taj Mahal. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: PG-13, 1 hr. 35 min.
Directed By: Tricia Brock
Genres: Drama, Comedy

In Theaters: May 4, 2004 Wide
On DVD: Jan 15, 2008

No Critic Reviews Found…

Featured Audience Ratings

Cynthia S

Very good movie!! Yet another one of those "quirky" movies that I got a kick out of. I like alot of movies that are based around music, but this one also had a very good cast and storyline.
Leigh R

The music is amazing. Funny and uplifting. Great cast who really played out their characters well. Lucas Black deserves something for his radiant performance. Loved the Plymouth!
Mark A

A pretty silly send up of a group of young people who are apparently sentenced to an alternative to jail for their minor infractions. The real star of this however is the music. Some strong blues performances supposedly played by these delinquents kept this from being a total waste of… More
A pretty silly send up of a group of young people who are apparently sentenced to an alternative to jail for their minor infractions. The real star of this however is the music. Some strong blues performances supposedly played by these delinquents kept this from being a total waste of time. The story itself seemed to lack focus. Was it supposed to be about Vernon (Lucas Black), an autistic young man, finding his place in the world and gaining his father's approval in the process? Was it about the conflict between two brothers, played by Fred Willard and John Michael Higgins over control of a small Baptist College? What was the deal with setting the story there, anyway? Or, was it supposed to be about a group of troubled teenagers finding redemption in coming together to play the Blues? Any of those various storylines could easily have served as the central theme, but by trying to develop all three, the film felt diluted and incomplete. We never really got a feel for what was driving any of these stories. It could be that this viewer demands too much from a comedy (this is no drama, despite the NF category definition) but I know it is possible to make a funny film that tells a good story as well. If not for the music, this just might have been unwatchable. Keb' Mo' only has a bit part and contributes no music to the film, while Taj Mahal only appears at the beginning and briefly at the end.