Clue

Pick an ending.

Director: Jonathan Lynn

Writers: John Landis (Story)

                Jonathan Lynn (Story & Screenplay)

                Anthony E.Pratt (Board game - uncredited)

Why is this so underrated? Like really, this is such a painfully underrated film, and I just don't get it. Is it because it came out in 1985 and people today are only concerned with Marvel and DC movies? Not really because people love a lot of films from that year, is it because it's not got a star-studded cast? Not really, it's got Tim Curry and Christopher Lloyd in it, is it because it's not funny? Hell no, this one of the funniest things I've ever seen. If anyone could tell me why it's not loved as much please let me know, I'm genuinely so confused.

So, as you might guess, this is based on the board game Cluedo where players solve a murder based on clues they come across. They have to work out how the victim was killed, where, and with what. It's a pretty good game and has various versions out there and when I was a kid I had The Simpsons version. Lost all the pieces. Still devastated about it. Moving on. The film follows this formula quite well but also adds a motive for murder. Blackmail. There's also a second motive, not dissimilar to Hot Fuzz where there is a motive but a more reasonable underlying reason for the murders. Here, the more reasonable...reason was Communism. But it turns out Communism and the blackmailer just wants his informants dead. Pretty smart if you think about it. I'm also not naming the blackmailer/murderer(s) as...this is a multiple choice movie. There are three endings and you get to pretty much chose your murderer and outcome of the film. Maybe that's why this is underrated, people these days are more passive than active when watching a film and would rather have their ending spoon-fed to them. I don't know. 

This is one of my favourite films ever by the way, it was my first introduction to Tim Curry and he is such an inspiration to me in performance or in general life. His acting style is just to go all out and fuck haters. Or at least that's how it comes across to me and you definitely see it here. Even in scenes where he's in the background, the guys face just jumps out to you. That sounds a little scarier than what it should be but it's not, it's a really good thing in fact because even though his face does jump right out at you, he doesn't steal scenes. Tim plays the Butler, Wadsworth, by the way, I'm aware I didn't mention that but the character makes you well aware of the fact he's a butler by...kind of announcing it whenever it's necessary to remind everyone. It's actually quite funny every time he does it.

Mr Green (Michael McKean) plays a gay man working in Washington and that's the reason he's getting blackmailed. He's also the punching bag and the guy who gets the blame leading to a catchphrase of Quote: "I didn't do it." Each time it's said the poor guy just gets more and more exasperated and it turns out, during all three of the endings, he didn't do anything. Which is nice you know. Thinking about it, he is the most innocent of all the people in this film and almost renders him useless until the end where he is used as a dummy to recap the entire film's murders and also, plays a very key part in one of the endings. I won't say how or anything, you gotta look at that for yourself. 

The rest of the cast do...a pretty good job in their respective parts. Nothing really stands out much aside from Christopher Lloyd as Professor Plum, the doctor who did what you shouldn't with your patients. I mean, that's a kinda vague way of describing it but you know what it is without even saying it explicitly. I really am trying hard to think of anything that stood out about these people but...they're all just so good that I can't think of anything.

The writing, however, is some of the best I've seen. Unlike in The Lego Batman Movie where people have claimed that there's a joke in almost every line and it's laugh a minute where it isn't, Clue, definitely is a laugh a minute script. There are jokes in more or less every line, whether it's visual or verbal, there are jokes. Whether it's an obvious quip such as Quote: Mrs Peacock (Eileen Brennan): "Uh, is there a little girls room in the hall?"  Yvette (Coleen Camp): "Oiu Oiu madame." Mrs Peacock: "No, I just want to powder my nose." or something subtle such as Quote: Wadsworth: "Professor Plum, you were once a professor of psychiatry at specialising in helping paranoid and homicidal lunatics suffering from delusions of grandeur."   Professor Plum (Christopher Lloyd): "Yes, but now I work for the United Nations."   Wadsworth: "So your work has not changed."

Both these types of humour absolutely kill me during this entire thing.

Now then, we all know I can't not find a problem with something so...here's the problem with this movie. The scene where the lights go out and Mr Boddy is shot. What's the problem with that? He falls forward onto his face yet the bullet would have come from his front but...there's a bullet hole in the wall in front of him? I know you're probably thinking "the murderer could have gone behind him and shot him" but Plum says that someone starts wrestling him for the gun and it goes off. Plum was in the middle of the room. If you're shot from the front you fall backwards and a bullet hole in the wall would be behind you yes? Simple as. 

Like I said before this is one of my favourite films and in my opinion, it's so painfully underrated that you really should take a look at it. It's on Netflix, it's on DVD, it's online. You got not excuse to not see this thing. Unless you don't feel like it and that's fine, I can't force you but...you really should look at it. It's a good murder mystery if nothing else.

This is just my opinion and if you disagree then that's great, I'm open to discussion and I'm always interested to hear how you feel about this film. This is also a critique which is considered "Fair Use" under the Copyright Act 1976. If you like this film then go and support its creators by buying the DVD or Bluray.