Clue (1985) Review
I don’t remember much about third grade but what I do remember is that I LOVED the game Clue for some reason? Don’t ask me more details because I could not explain why, and I honestly don’t think I have played the game since then. So as soon as I saw the 1985 film Clue was on the Letterboxd list I am working my way through, I was stoked to watch it- tonight it was finally time!
Thoughts I had while watching this movie:
-Damn, I do not miss long opening credit sequences.
-Hello, young Tim Curry! (I think my first introduction to him was Charlie’s Angels so anytime I see him young I’m thrown for a loop.)
-Girl, you just going to leave your car with the hood up and the lights on?
-Why is peak humor just men attempting to feel every woman up?
-How many guard dogs does this house need? And why are they all outside? All the crimes are happening INSIDE the house…
-A gay? In the Government? In 1954?
-Why are they out here just stacking corpses up on the couch? What could possibly be the reason for this?
-“6 murders, this is getting serious…” six murders is where we start getting into serious territory? I would be scared and anxious after ONE.
-Hell yeah, secret passages!
-Ok alternate endings, pop off.
-Oh just kidding, not a gay I guess.
Now- for the movie structure itself: I hate to say it, but I legitimately could not stand the first hour of this movie… it was incredibly slow. I get it, you are converting a board game into a movie-it’s going to require some set up but like… good god did it take a minute to get to the point. Also, getting everyone there under a blackmail ruse was kind of thin, but whatever. The last half of the movie picked up decently and was more entertaining.
I’m fully aware it is supposed to be camp but the acting was very much giving high school theater production- over the top, loud, laying it on too thick in an attempt at being funny and poorly paced. I’ve seen some people say this is the “best written comedy they have ever seen” maybe I’m just not one of the ones who gets it because I don’t think it was all that great. The dialogue is rapid fire which I don’t necessarily mind but it’s more the fact that the jokes were slightly slapstick- think a few notches below Naked Gun and that humor just does not land for me very often. For the mid-80s the effects were just bad (punching/hitting sounds being off, fake blood makeup looked awful, sound cues were too cheesy). But with all the negatives, some of the acting really shined through- specifically Curry’s performance in the end. I mean, that running from room to room with the entire cast of characters following repeatedly really made me laugh. Delivering all those lines after dead sprinting is sheer talent.
Overall, I’m giving this movie a 4/10. I would not watch again unless I was having a theme night or a campy murder mystery party as on-theme background noise. I would not recommend unless someone said they just really loved campy murder mysteries that start as slow burns with a decent payoff. The alternate endings were a fun twist, and I really enjoyed that aspect but besides that it was not a great watch in my book. Going forward when it comes to Clue I think I’m going to refer to my third grade self and stick to the board game.
XOXO, Gossip Roy