When Cool asks if his dad is coming back and Grandpa says "no" are we to assume he's on the run for good or that he knows his life is over and will be killed?
The way the grandpa answered that was very dark sounding because even as selfish and shallow as Larry was, he still has his family and son there waiting for him.
Thoughts?
Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it.
I brought this up years ago. Larry was a dispicable person. I'd like to think the dad just said to hell with him and NOT help him. But the earlier conversation he has with Gil, "no matter the age, he is still my son" seems to point to him helping him out. At least to just spare his life. But I don't think he's welcome back at his parents house anymore from him telling Cool that his dad is never coming back.
shareI think Jason Robards' character is just being realistic that Larry probably won't be back, so Cool won't have false hope. I don't have the feeling he thinks Larry will be killed, just that he'll probably be a flake and a loser forever.
sharemy guess is larry turned out ok: he probably plays the piano at some tiki bar in hawaii. cool plays the bass.
'It's time for the human race to enter the solar system.'-Dan Quayle
^ that's exactly what I thought, too.
Reach out your hand, if your cup be empty
if your cup is full, may it be again
I think Robards was just being honest with him. Since Larry obviously owes some big $$$ to a loan shark type (the scene where he gets thrown out of a moving car, tries to sell his Dad's car), his plan is to dump Cool on his family and leave town so that he can stay alive. His Dad knows, based on Larry's history, that he will never repay the debt, therefore it will never be safe for him to return to town.
Thus his honest and succinct "No".
Larry was the black sheep of the family.
shareHe said it with this kind of darkness because he realized the kind of person his son really was. He pretended not to think of his son in this way before and just overlook it all. His son was a scumbag who 100% was going to leave his child and never come back.
share