Movie Review #2 - Clue (1985)
A Movie Review by Carter Rutledge for:
Based on the popular board game, this comedy begins at a dinner party hosted by Mr. Boddy, where he admits to blackmailing his visitors. These guests, who have been given aliases, are Mrs. Peacock, Miss Scarlet, Mr. Green, Professor Plum, Mrs. White, and Col. Mustard. When Boddy turns up murdered, all are suspects, and together they try to figure out who is the killer.
MPAA Rating: PG
MPAA Rating: PG
The Good: Amazing writing, phenomenal acting, and awesome sets.
The Bad: Slightly cheesy scares, slow pacing and some adult references.
Why I Watched it:
We had a gift card for Amazon Video and when scrolling through last night we saw this movie. We have loved the board game for years, and thought it would be a great movie night!
My Thoughts (no penny needed):
For all of the failed movies based on video games, one based on a popular board game actually works! Not only does it work as a movie by itself, along with the game, this movie is great! So many small and large references to the characters and gameplay.
The acting is spot on here with a well known cast in the leading roles. Christopher Lloyd was great in a non Back to the Future role, and Tim Curry was superb as well.
All of the characters have very distinct personalities that drive dialogue and the story forward.
The costuming was a let down here, I was hoping for glamorous and obviously colored costumes to match everyone's color-coded name. Mrs. White wore all black! Colonel Mustard is who I always play as in the board game, and I was not let down here with his costume at all.
The set pieces are great here, and I really enjoyed the secret passages and their function.
It is listed as a mystery/comedy on many sites, and it was quite hilarious. A good mix of slapstick and quippy lines makes all of the humor really work here.
About the alternate endings... I liked the second one the best, and I felt it would have been a better movie had they just used that one. Or, with newer streaming services, have a choose your own, saying who you want to be the killer and you select it. The multiple endings one after another felt confusing once you watch all three. I just need to watch it again with a certain ending in mind and see how well it lines up.
We had a gift card for Amazon Video and when scrolling through last night we saw this movie. We have loved the board game for years, and thought it would be a great movie night!
My Thoughts (no penny needed):
For all of the failed movies based on video games, one based on a popular board game actually works! Not only does it work as a movie by itself, along with the game, this movie is great! So many small and large references to the characters and gameplay.
The acting is spot on here with a well known cast in the leading roles. Christopher Lloyd was great in a non Back to the Future role, and Tim Curry was superb as well.
All of the characters have very distinct personalities that drive dialogue and the story forward.
The costuming was a let down here, I was hoping for glamorous and obviously colored costumes to match everyone's color-coded name. Mrs. White wore all black! Colonel Mustard is who I always play as in the board game, and I was not let down here with his costume at all.
The set pieces are great here, and I really enjoyed the secret passages and their function.
It is listed as a mystery/comedy on many sites, and it was quite hilarious. A good mix of slapstick and quippy lines makes all of the humor really work here.
About the alternate endings... I liked the second one the best, and I felt it would have been a better movie had they just used that one. Or, with newer streaming services, have a choose your own, saying who you want to be the killer and you select it. The multiple endings one after another felt confusing once you watch all three. I just need to watch it again with a certain ending in mind and see how well it lines up.
The Characters:
The Butler Wadsworth: Yes. I love this role. The most main character not in the game, Wadsworth really fit into the idea and story here. Acting was spot on, and his third ending made sense, but was a slight letdown for his character.
Mrs. Peacock: Yep. She worked well with the other characters, screaming her way through the movie. I think if every character represented a piece of the audience, she performed that role the best.
Miss. Scarlet: Why wasn't her dress red? Why? Acting was okay here, when they are in the lounge and Wadsworth reads all their secrets, she is so annoying in that scene. But I guess that is what the filmmakers were aiming for there.
Mr. Green: A gay character in a 1985 movie?? He was revealed to be straight in the third ending though. He was the timid side of all of us, afraid to do any more than sit.
Professor Plum: Christopher Lloyd was my favorite actor here, but his character was brash and unlikable.
Mrs. White: Put her in white clothes. What was so hard about that? Acting was good here, and she was very reserved and to herself the entire film. While everyone is running and screaming, Mrs. White just stands there.
Colonel Mustard: My pawn whenever I play the game, I watched him closer than the other characters for that reason. His costume was the best, but I felt his backstory was not as developed nor detailed as the other characters.
The Butler Wadsworth: Yes. I love this role. The most main character not in the game, Wadsworth really fit into the idea and story here. Acting was spot on, and his third ending made sense, but was a slight letdown for his character.
Mrs. Peacock: Yep. She worked well with the other characters, screaming her way through the movie. I think if every character represented a piece of the audience, she performed that role the best.
Miss. Scarlet: Why wasn't her dress red? Why? Acting was okay here, when they are in the lounge and Wadsworth reads all their secrets, she is so annoying in that scene. But I guess that is what the filmmakers were aiming for there.
Mr. Green: A gay character in a 1985 movie?? He was revealed to be straight in the third ending though. He was the timid side of all of us, afraid to do any more than sit.
Professor Plum: Christopher Lloyd was my favorite actor here, but his character was brash and unlikable.
Mrs. White: Put her in white clothes. What was so hard about that? Acting was good here, and she was very reserved and to herself the entire film. While everyone is running and screaming, Mrs. White just stands there.
Colonel Mustard: My pawn whenever I play the game, I watched him closer than the other characters for that reason. His costume was the best, but I felt his backstory was not as developed nor detailed as the other characters.
My Favorite Character: Wadsworth
Final Ratings:
Note: Ratings go up to 10, 1 being the worst.
Directing: 9
Acting: 10
Visual Effects/Animation: 7
Cinematography: 8.5
Set: 9.5
Writing: 9
Set: 9.5
Writing: 9
The Movie as a Whole: 7.5
Thanks for reading my second review, you awesome person!
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