Once Upon a Crime (1992)

Directed by Eugene Levy. Starring Jim Belushi, Richard Lewis, John Candy, Sean Young, Cybill Shepherd, Giancarlo Giannini, George Hamilton, Ornella Muti, Roberto Sbaratto, Joss Ackland. [PG]

Comic mystery—without comedy to laugh at or a mystery to care about—follows a handful of people in Monte Carlo (a pair of gambling addicts, a down-on-his-luck actor, an unappreciated housewife, etc.) as they get involved to varying degrees in cases of murder and a missing dachshund. The actors probably knew that the jokes aren’t funny, so they either behave desperately to force a laugh or mumble through the motions because they don’t care to try (or vacillate back-and-forth between both extremes). One-note, loud and sloppy; no more than two or three amusing moments, and not worth suffering through the dry spells to get to them. And despite its locale, there isn’t even a bevy of good backdrops to admire. First and, to date, only theatrical feature film directed by Eugene Levy; he also has a bit part as a casino cashier. A remake of French film Crimen (…And Suddenly It’s Murder), and this in turn was remade in India as 36 China Town.

29/100