Project: Grilling Bobby Hicks
Genre: Comedy
Director: Tommy Wood
Producer(s): Tommy Wood, Marc Benton, Neal Shannon Cruey
Writer(s): Tommy Wood & Neal Shannon Cruey
Status: Completed Feature Film
Logline: Comedy about a small-town bully’s mysterious murder, which leads to changes among his friends and family, including a surprising romance between his rebellious waitress niece and a shy Latino artist.
SYNOPSIS
In a small,
sleepy Georgia town, trailer-park bully BOBBY HICKS rules
the roost. Soon after receiving a delivery of stolen patio
furniture from ne’er-do-wells WAYNE and DODGE, Bobby is
found shot to death and cooked on his still-warm barbecue
grill. Laid-back SHERIFF BUTTERWORTH and his eager young
deputy COLLETTE FEELEY (Bobby’s niece) investigate the
crime, with suspicion first falling on Bobby’s hairdresser
wife LINDA, who’s been secretly carrying on with Dodge.
Another suspect is LENNY ESTRADA, a handsome Latino painter
who’s got a not-so-secret crush on Collette’s misfit sister
MEGAN, a local waitress haunted by her father’s
“accidental” death at Bobby’s hands. But even though all of
them had access to Bobby on the day of his death, the leads
go nowhere.
A local lawyer informs a select group that were in some way
close to Bobby, that he has left over a quarter-million
dollar inheritance to the last one of them left living.
Convinced that Linda killed her husband, Sheriff
Butterworth wants to close the case. Collette doesn’t let
up so easy. Meanwhile, Lenny’s quiet perseverance starts to
win over Megan, who finally agrees to go out on a date with
him. They run into Dodge, who once took Megan to the high
school prom, and he makes a racist ass of himself. Later,
Megan discovers that behind Lenny’s house-painting façade
lies the soul of a sensitive, talented artist. On a whim,
she enters a painting Lenny gave her in an art exhibit in
Atlanta, and they’re both stunned when it’s accepted.
Megan and Lenny dress up and attend the exhibit in Atlanta,
where Megan plays Lenny’s manager and negotiates a huge
deal for him, which would require a move to New York.
Despite both of them declaring their love for each other,
Lenny’s hesitant to leave his ailing mother and large
family. On the drive back, a drunk, jealous Dodge tries to
run them off the road, but crashes instead, and Lenny saves
his life. Realizing it may be his one chance at happiness,
Lenny agrees to go to New York with Megan, and the town
gives them a big sendoff. Soon after, while boxing up the
files on Bobby’s death, Collette puts the clues together
and figures out who the real killer is, and someone’s
happily ever after may be in doubt.