Clue (1985)

Directed by Jonathan Lynn. Starring Tim Curry, Leslie Ann Warren, Martin Mull, Michael McKean, Christopher Lloyd, Madeline Kahn, Eileen Brennan, Colleen Camp, Lee Ving. [PG]

A movie based on a popular board game shouldn’t work, but in this case, it does—credit ideal casting and the savvy decision to turn this superficial murder mystery into a comedy. As in the game, a murder has been committed at a stately manor, and there are six prime suspects: Miss Scarlet (Warren), Colonel Mustard (Mull), Professor Plum (Lloyd), etc. Each of them have their dirty little secrets connecting them to the victim, they were all given lethal weapons prior to the deadly incident, and there are a lot of rooms in the house for additional murders to take place… Verbose and oft-frantic, the momentum is on the lumpy side, and the movie’s big gimmick is problematic for one big reason. Said gimmick: the pic was released to theaters with one of three different endings/culprits attached to each print (on home video, all three were stacked back-to-back-to-back with intertitles separating them (e.g. “But here’s what really happened”)). Said problem: this means the mystery is essentially a cheat if more than one solution is possible, so there’s no point trying to guess what’s going on the first time you watch. Despite the flaws, however, it should be frenetic fun for fans of the Parker Brothers game and newbies alike, and Curry’s show-stealing energy, smarm, and verbal gymnastics as the butler make it one of the actor’s most delightful performances in a career full of delightful performances. Jane Wiedlin of the Go-Go’s makes an amusing cameo appearance.

70/100