Director: Jonathan Lynn
Writer: John Landis, Jonathan Lynn (Screenplay) Anthony E Pratt (Board Game)
Starring: Eileen Brennan, Tim Curry, Madeline Kahn, Christopher Lloyd, Michael McKean, Martin Mull, Lesley Ann Warren, Colleen Camp
Plot: Six guests are invited to a strange house and must cooperate with the staff to solve a murder mystery.
Tagline – “Cluedo” isn’t just a boardgame anymore!
Runtime: 1 Hour 34 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Verdict: Brilliantly Fun Mystery
Story: Clue starts when six guests using fake names, Mrs Peacock (Brennan), Mrs White (Kahn), Professor Plum (Lloyd), Mr Green (McKean), Colonel Mustard (Mull) and Miss Scarlet (Warren) are invited for a dinner party, with butler Wadsworth (Curry), maid Yvette (Camp) and host Mr Boddy (Ving), they each have a secret that is about to get exposed, only tonight they can end their torment of being blackmailed by Mr Boddy.
The problem comes when the lights go off and Mr Boddy is murdered by one of the seven, with the weapons Candlestick, Gun, Dagger, Rope, Wretch and Lead Pipe in the room, the eight joined by Yvette must figure out who the murderer is before they leave the house.
Thoughts on Clue
Characters – Wadsworth is the butler who is preparing everybody for the dinner, he does have a reason for his own reason for the whole party, he must keep everybody calm as he has been just as much of a victim in the film. when it comes to the guests we have the known figures from the game, they have all been blackmailed, we don’t learn too much about their personal lives as the only things we do learn are involved in the blackmailing going on.
Performances – Tim Curry is fantastic in this role, when he does the solving sequences in this film, we see the energy level in the film reach levels we have rarely seen in film. when we look at the rest of the cast, they are strong through each of the events of the film.
Story – The story here follows the six iconic board games characters put into the middle of the mystery after one of the guests gets killed, they all have motives for being the ones that commit the crime and as the bodies continue to pile up they must solve the case before it is too late. Anybody that has played the game knows how this can be one of the fun games to play, we get the weapons, the characters and the rooms each being involved in the murders which this film offers up. We get a nice pacing to this film which does feel like you are helping to solve the case and with three different ending you will never know which one you will be getting.
Comedy/Crime/Mystery – The comedy in the film comes from word play, it is very quick witted and will get the laughs in the right places. The crime and mystery elements of the film go hand in hand, as we see the guests needing to solve the mystery of who committed the crime.
Settings – The whole film is set in the house which is simple and effective, it shows us just what is going on with each chapter being unfolded in the film.
Scene of the Movie – Tim Curry’s energy in the reveal.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – Have the larger body count is strange.
Final Thoughts – This is a wonderfully fun movie, you can enjoy what is going on with the characters with the crazy connections and be left to try and figure out the truth for yourself.
Overall: Fun and Enjoyable.
Rating
