Clue (1985)
The Cast
Eileen Brennan .... Mrs. Peacock
Tim Curry .... Wadsworth
Madeline Kahn .... Mrs. White
Christopher Lloyd .... Prof. Plum
Michael McKean .... Mr. Green
Martin Mull .... Col. Mustard
Lesley Ann Warren .... Miss Scarlet
Colleen Camp .... Yvette
Lee Ving .... Mr. Boddy
Jane Wiedlin .... The Singing Telegram Girl
Howard Hesseman .... The Chief
Contrary to popular belief, the movies Life and Guess Who have nothing to do with their respective board games of the same name, making this the only movie I can think of that's based on a board game. Thanks to the comedic sensibilites of the cast and the very British feel the movie gets from director Jonathan Lynn, it's mostly a success. However, that success should be marked with an asterisk, since any movie that has three different surprise endings that are shown at random doesn't really sound like something that works as a cohesive whole.
All of the particulars of the popular board game have been faithfully adapted to the movie, minus that Captain Brown guy that only showed up once of course. There are a couple new additions as well as a storyline revamp to better suit the story to the screen, but for the most part it's all there. The characters, the murder weapons, the secret passageways between rooms, the ridiculously heaving bosom of Yvette (Camp)... sorry.. got carried away there.
As for the very British feel, well that comes from both the addition of Wadsworth the butler (Curry) as well as the slapsticky nature and self-referential (and self-mocking) trend that runs throughout the entire feature. Don't bother try to pay attention to the storyline too hard, or try to figure out the mystery yourself. Like I said earlier, if there are three random endings to the movie, chances are good there's going to be a few cheats involved in the conclusion.
It's not the greatest of films, but there's a lot to be send for the characterizations throughout the movie. Tim Curry is wonderful as Wadsworth, pushing the story forward as the manipulator of the whole scenario and working in some great line readings. The same could be said for most of the cast, but I'd like to single out the much-missed Madeline Kahn as the murderous Mrs. White. I've always loved her performances, shrill though they may be sometimes, as she connects with the character and delivers solid comedy.
All three of the surprise endings deliver a satisfactory conclusion to the film, though I tend to prefer the Mrs. Peacock (Brennan) version more as it feels like the least ridiculous leap of faith of the three. The Mr. Green (McKean) version feels like a Scooby-Doo ending, which definitely fits into the "wink wink" feel of the movie. Miss Scarlet's version is pretty much just there, and I find it interesting that the line "communism was just a red herring" was in all three alternate versions. All in all, Clue is entertaining enough but may leave you feeling a little cheated at the end.
3 / 5