tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post2814264428590937572..comments2023-11-05T02:01:53.847-06:00Comments on Antagony & Ecstasy: BLOCKBUSTER HISTORY: MOVIES ADAPTED FROM BOARD GAMESTimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09491952893581644049noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post-9868285633090183832014-05-19T11:48:33.845-05:002014-05-19T11:48:33.845-05:00Just saw this movie for the first time, and I'...Just saw this movie for the first time, and I'm kind of in two minds about it: on the one hand, I agree with the commenters against Tim that it <i>is</i> pretty hilarious, at least the last two thirds. (My favourite moment, at least the first time through, was the discovery of Yvette's body. Everyone's deadpan non-reaction as they file in, observe yup, there's another corpse, then file back out…) On the other hand, I went in warned to just bull through the first twenty minutes, and it <i>does</i>pick up after that, but God, no farce that manages to inch over 80 minutes by including three different endings should be allowed to write off a quarter of the runtime like that.<br /><br />On another note: it's almost structurally a slasher, innit: bunch of people in an isolated location, deranged murder, random drop-ins who get offed almost as fast as they can get shovelled onto the set ("I! Am! Your singing telegram!")… But the tension doesn't rise, because we know nobody with a colour for a name is going to die and after about the halfway point the cast stops pretending they don't know it too. Which is probably the funniest part of the satire (see: Yevette, death of and reaction to, above).<br /><br />Finally: I saw this as a <i>play</i>, first, actually, at Ottawa Fringe some years back, and it honestly worked a bit better there - IIRC they tightened up the opening a bit, and madcap farce seems to work better for me onstage for whatever reason - but it sadly meant that I'd had the last line spoiled for me. If "seeing it cold in some other context" counts as spoilers.Not Fenimorehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05135812849405775125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post-49950182500468459922012-05-21T17:49:28.897-05:002012-05-21T17:49:28.897-05:00Lest Tim feel all alone here, I'll offer my ow...Lest Tim feel all alone here, I'll offer my own bit of support: "Clue" is a Movie I like more than love. As you say, it is enjoyable enough from start to finish, and I'm a sucker for just about anything with Tim Curry OR Christopher Lloyd, so having them both in the same movie is a nice personal treat, but on the whole there are very few gags that actually got a good laugh out of me, or struck me as particularly funny in and of themselves. I WILL say, though, that when Curry's character breathlessly leads the whole cast through the Mansion, explaining each and every "clue" thus far gathered, it had me in stitches the first time through.Sssonichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08540745505361960873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post-69333110412907579632012-05-21T16:27:31.488-05:002012-05-21T16:27:31.488-05:00Danny F., you are right. The "singing telegr...Danny F., you are right. The "singing telegram" bit STILL makes me laugh...even now it makes me smile.<br /><br />Sorry Tim, but on this beging somehow bad we cannot concede. <i>Clue</i> is a guilty pleasure of which I am unashamed of. <br /><br />My only thing is, I remember seeing all three endings at the theater, but perhaps my memory is playing tricks on me or it was some sort of revival. I was very young when it came out, so perhaps I'm hazy on that, but I still love to hear, "Ta-da ta-da-da-da. I Am Your Singing Telegram..." shot, door close.Rickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16611922269342141654noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post-42387248915757998472012-05-21T14:48:46.771-05:002012-05-21T14:48:46.771-05:00Aw, y'all are making me feel bad that I don...Aw, y'all are making me feel bad that I don't love it. I remember loving it, but I hadn't seen it in ages and ages before this review.<br /><br />I will say, about "Flames..." that it's the best argument I have for how much it must have sucked to see the movie during its theatrical run: Madeline Kahn's best moment and maybe the best part of the whole film, and it was only in one-third of the theatrical prints. That just seems rude.Timhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09491952893581644049noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post-12112288572039656862012-05-21T13:13:38.106-05:002012-05-21T13:13:38.106-05:00Joining the parade of people who simply adore this...Joining the parade of people who simply adore this movie. I'll agree that the dogshit joke is weak, the third ending is vastly superior, and it doesn't really get going until the first murder, but there are few movies in this world that make me happier. If I were to make a guess as to the reasons for the era in which it was set, I'd imagine it's a combination of lingering 50s nostalgia (HAPPY DAYS was still on TV) and the fact that the Cold War is well suited to a story of hidden identities and agendas. I'd say the whole cast is ace at creating character and chaos, with Curry and Kahn best in show (like everyone else, "flames...flames on the side of my face" is a personal catchphrase). But this is a movie on which I have very little critical distance--and I don't want to have any. So there.Zev Valancyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10239062791827527067noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post-25347460059025662432012-05-21T11:06:01.045-05:002012-05-21T11:06:01.045-05:00Like Danny F., I and my friends are wont to use th...Like Danny F., I and my friends are wont to use the phrase "flames... on the side of my face" in everyday conversation.<br /><br />And like Danny F., I too am somewhat disappointed to learn that you do not have a higher opinion of the movie. Even the beginning, before the death of Mr. Boddy, contains some gags which I can remember laughing out loud at, like Yvette guilelessly pouring out of her dress as she serves dinner to the house guests, and the male among them's inability to look away, or said males synchronized leg crossing when Madeline Kahn(at least I think it's Madeline Kahn) confesses to castrating her husband. And of course I cannot now hear the song "Sh Boom Sh Boom (Life Could Be A Dream)" without seeing Madeline Kahn, Martin Mull, and Christopher Lloyd canoodling with inanimate corpses. And Mull and Brennan walking down the basement steps at the same time, their combined shoulder widths too wide for the stairwell? Pure comedy gold.Colinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04952276101161849381noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post-26924304220388174122012-05-21T10:59:40.896-05:002012-05-21T10:59:40.896-05:00One of the few cult films that I am an enthusiasti...One of the few cult films that I am an enthusiastic member of the cult for. I remember watching this on HBO when I was ten, and I love it just as much now, if not moreso. I like to recite the lines along with the movie when I watch it, and I'm genuinely surprised when everyone else watching with me doesn't have the script memorized.<br /><br />Of course, humor is totally subjective, and my last girlfriend fell asleep while watching this with me, but I find it absolutely hilarious quite frequently. Even the dog poop joke gets funny after the first fifty times you've watched the movie.franklinshepardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13858074176921317138noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post-82102038828729806522012-05-21T08:51:38.719-05:002012-05-21T08:51:38.719-05:00Aw, I'm disappointed that you didn't like ...Aw, I'm disappointed that you didn't like this more- although "Clue" is one of those movies that I just have an unusual amount of nostalgic affection for. I now find it hilariously dated, and pretty juvenile at times, but I fondly recall Young Me laughing for hours at the singing telegram part. And I am still known to use "flames... on the side of my face" on occasion when I get angry. You are definitely right that "fun" is the best way to describe it, but I think I still had more fun with it than you seemed to!<br /><br />FWIW, I could have sworn I once read that the movie listings had designations for endings A, B and C back in the day, so audiences could actually choose which of the endings they would see. Don't ask me to cite this, though.Danny F.https://www.blogger.com/profile/02140493474947698592noreply@blogger.com