Clue (1985), directed by Jonathan Lynn is a treat. A revolutionary comedy starring some of the most famous actors of the 70s and 80s, it is quite possibly, my favorite comedy ever. The plot, centering around a group of loosely connected individuals invited to a dinner party in a house I the middle of nowhere is turned into a murder mystery plot just like one that you could find in the board game it is based on is one that is simple, and found in other famed mystery films of the time, such as Sleuth (1972) or Murder by Death (1976), but the flair of Clue differentiates itself from these films and shows us something never seen before in film.
Firstly, Clue is the first film based off a board game, and frankly, in a sub-genre that has proven time and time again to not work (see Battleship (2012)), it laid some incredible groundwork for its by-products. Secondly, released during The Cold War, it manages to satirize the fear of communism that plagued Washington DC, and Americans as a whole, for decades, while also normalizing homosexuality (as in, not using it as the butt of a bad joke). It goes to show how genius the comedic writing is.
If we choose to ignore the genius production design, make-up, and costume design (which is fantastic and perfectly tailored to the overall style of the film), Clue is at its core what it seeks out to be, a comedic masterpiece that can be rewatched time after time. The hilarity of it isn’t dependent of one-liners (which, I feel is fair to mention it lands perfectly), rather using the subtlety of lingering glances or looks (most of them directed towards Colleen Camp’s Yvette’s cleavage) as well as line delivery to make normal moments seem hilarious.
If I’m honest, I could talk about all the individual line deliveries and jokes in this film forever, but I feel like it is necessary to appreciate its story. The Plot, as I’ve mentioned is fairly standard, but the ending (or rather topically, endings) bring everything that we see in the story together in a way that despite rewatches comes as an immense surprise every time. There is something very hard about making a murder mystery as intricate as Clue and leave it so up to the imagination that 3 endings could be written and they’d all make logical sense.
There is no other way to describe this film. A comedic masterpiece that is guaranteed to make anyone laugh, a murder mystery that is guaranteed to make any fan of the genre hang off the edge of their seat, and a well directed film that is guaranteed to be enjoyed by anyone that is a fan of film or the actors present. Tim Curry’s undisputed best, and funniest film. And as I conclude this blog entry, I declare that I’m going home to sleep with my wife!
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