Nolan Gould, who played Luke Dunphy for 247 episodes of “Modern Family” between 2009 and 2020, appears in the HollyShorts 12’ 37” short opposite Millie Gibbons as Abbie. Gibbons played Kelly Neelan on “Coronation Street” for 172 episodes between 2019 and 2022. Millie also appeared in “Dr. Strange.”
Also mentioned in the credits of this Parker Groff directed short is Aidan Gould, Nathan’s brother, as Music Supervisor, with Ian Chase in charge of sound design. Perhaps the most remarkable music choice was the use of “Who Let the Dogs Out” by Anslem Douglas of Baba Men.
MUSIC
Removing the dead dog from the highway in “The Liars of Black Mountain Road.”
The choice of “Who Let the Dogs Out?” coincides nicely with the theme of the short, which involves a couple who accidentally hit and kill a dog on a highway (filmed near Los Angeles) and then attempt to do the right thing and contact the owner. There is a chip on the dog’s collar with the owner’s phone number and the couple does stop and notify the owner (Bill Welden) who drives out to recover the dead body of his pet.
TRUTH & CONSEQUENCES
Mollie Gibson (“The Liars of Black Mountain Road”) confronts Nolan Gould regarding his truthfulness about who killed the dog in the highway.
But does Ethan (Nathan Gould) tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth in letting the owner know how his dog died? That is Abbie’s (Millie Gibbons) repeated question for Ethan. She feels they must tell the owner quite clearly the whole truth of the tragedy. (A second song used is “There Is So Much Pain in the World,” performed by Touching Ice, but the tune that burrows its way into your consciousness as an ear worm is “Who Let the Dogs Out?”)
Who, indeed?
We never learn the answer to that question. You can draw your own conclusions as to which member of this couple—-Ethan or Abbie—is the most truthful and honest.
CONCLUSION
Nolan Gould.
It was fun to see Nolan Gould as a much-older version of Luke Dunphy. As always, smart to have a car be the “set” for this small slice of life, which has us pondering issues about truth and transparency that are relevant to what’s going on in today’s world, especially the political world.
