Movie Review: Clue

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Funny comedy and a decent mystery

Cons: Can't solve mystery on your own; very adult for a PG movie

The Bottom Line:

Mr. Boddy dies

Which of the suspects did it?

You will laugh and see

"Mr. Boddy.  Dead...Again."

I remember hearing about the movie version of Clue back in the 80's.  By the time it came out, I was already a fan of the board game on which it is based.  But I couldn't quite see how they would make a movie from the game work.  And I considered the three endings nothing but a cheap trick.  And they well might have been.  But the end result is a comedy that works quite well.

As in the classic game, we've got Miss Scarlett (Lesley Ann Warren), Mrs. White (Madeline Kahn), Mrs. Peacock (Eileen Brennan), Mr. Green (Michael McKean), Colonel Mustard (Martin Mull), and Professor Plum (Christopher Lloyd).  The year is 1954, and the six of them have been invited to a mansion for a mysterious reason.  They are met by Wadsworth the butler (Tim Curry), who says all will be revealed after dinner.

Over dinner, the six guests learn that they all live in Washington DC.  And just as dinner is ending, a seventh guest shows up, Mr. Boddy (Lee Ving).  The other guests quickly learn that all of them are being blackmailed, and Mr. Boddy is the one doing it.  The power goes out momentarily, and Mr. Boddy is dead.  Now the other guests need to figure out who did it, and which of the weapons he had just passed out was used because the mayhem is just getting started.

And, yes, mayhem is the correct word for the chaos to come.  This is a classic screwball comedy, with plenty of physical gags as well as fast paced, witty dialogue.  I've seen the movie twice now, and both times I laughed very hard at it.

As a mystery it does leave a little something to be desired.  Since three endings were filmed, the movie doesn't give you any genuine clues to help you solve things before the ending.  And the characters movements required to make those endings work certainly couldn't have happened either.  But, honestly, I'm having such a good time I don't care.

The DVD has all three endings.  You can either have one randomly selected for you or choose to watch all three of them back to back.  As different as all the endings are, they do make sense considering what has come before.  They make a good case during each ending.  So, while you can't solve the mystery on your own, you aren't left wondering how they arrived at the conclusion they did.

As you would expect from the masters in the cast, the acting here is great.  These are top comedians at the top of their game.  I can't imagine a better cast pulling this material off.

A word of warning to parents.  Some of the blackmail secrets (okay, most of them) are very adult in nature.  Frankly, this is surprising since the inspiration for the movie is a kid's game.  I've got to admit I laugh at some of the jokes that come from these secrets.  But you might want to preview it before you let the kids watch it.

After seeing the film, I wonder why I ever doubted.  Clue the board game just screams out to become a great movie.  And that's exactly what we've got here.  Sit back and enjoy the laughs and the murder.