Flyerplesys Perfectly adorable

Btexxamar I like Black Panther, but I didn't like this movie.

Ketrivie It isn't all that great, actually. Really cheesy and very predicable of how certain scenes are gonna turn play out. However, I guess that's the charm of it all, because I would consider this one of my guilty pleasures.

Teddie Blake The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Tweekums Larry is a writer; his problem is he can't write a word since his ex-wife stole his previous novel and claimed it was her own. Owen is one of Larry's writing students; his problem is that he lives with his aged mother who makes his life hell… they each need to find a solution to their problems. Owen writes a murder mystery but it isn't very good; it lacks the basics of the genre so Larry gives him a few pointers; give the characters a motive then hide the motive… like something from a Hitchcock film. Owen thinks about this and goes to see how Hitchcock did it by watching 'Strangers on a Train'… then it comes to him; Larry wasn't talking about stories he was talking about getting away with murder; they would swap murders so each would kill somebody they had no motivation to kill, just like in the film! He calls Larry to tell him he understood everything before heading to Hawaii and helping Larry's ex fall off a boat. When Larry hears he is shocked and worried; he has no alibi for the time his wife disappeared because he never imaging Owen was actually intending to do it and everybody knew he hated his ex. To make matters worse Owen now expects Larry to kill his mother!While this isn't a classic comedy it has plenty of laughs which isn't a surprise when it stars Billy Crystal and Danny DiVito in the leading roles. The story doesn't contain anything too unpleasant despite being about murder; the strongest image appears in a fantasy scene where Owen imagines stabbing his mother through the head but even this looks funny rather than disturbing as there is no blood and it doesn't look real. There is one sex scene but that too is played for laughs as Owen hides behind a settee while Larry's ex and another man carry on while making barking noises! There is some extra unintentional amusement there as the ex is played by Kate Mulgrew, who is best known for playing Captain Janeway in 'Star Trek: Voyager' a character I can't image doing that! There are a couple of nice twists towards the end but I won't spoil those.

Michael_Elliott Throw Momma from the Train (1987) *** (out of 4) Dark comedy is a take off Hitchcock's STRANGERS ON A TRAIN. A writer (Billy Crystal) has his idea for a book stolen by his ex-wife who turns it into a major hit. He wishes he could kill her but his student (Danny DeVito) takes his talk serious and kills her in exchange that the writer kills his nagging mother (Anne Ramsey). With the talent involved this film should have been a whole lot better and even though there are countless flaws, in the end I can't help but find the film mildly entertaining, if disappointing. I think the biggest problem with the film is that there's way too much plot for a 88-minute comedy. We have so many double-crosses, plot twists and side plots that you could take them and use them in two or three movies. I think the film would have been a lot better had some of the plot been taken out and replaced with more laughs, which is one thing this comedy could have used more of. What does work is the chemistry between Crystal and DeVito. Both men really dig into their roles and turn in fine performances but they are both letdown by the screenplay. One of the first scenes involves Crystal suffering from writer's block and trying to complete the same line over and over. This scene goes on way too long. What does work is the early banter between the two actors as DeVito's character is constantly showing up at bad times wanting to know if Crystal enjoyed his bad stories. There's a very funny sequence when the two are discussing the so called "plan" that was only in DeVito's mind. Ramsey, who many will from THE GOONIES, turns in a nice, foul-mouthed performance and you can't help but love to hate her. Her relationship with DeVito, while mean-spirited, is also quite touching in a few scenes. Again, there's a lot wrong with this film but I think the three leads have enough going to carry the weak screenplay a lot further than it deserves.

kyle-cruse We're living in sad times today, in which it seems like every comedy movie and TV show is painfully unfunny and inflicted with cheap, crude, or poor humor. Most people don't know what it means to really laugh at a comedy, and these people desperately need to watch "Throw Momma From the Train." I say with little hesitation that this is one of the funniest movies I've ever seen, from beginning to end. The comedy is so unpredictable and twisted just enough to make us laugh out loud many times throughout. Don't be fooled by the murder plot. The plot is not serious enough to make us care or worry about what's going to happen. The story involves a young man (Danny DeVito) who wants to get rid of his annoying, grouchy mother (Anne Ramsey, nominated for an Oscar in a role that was completely flawless, in my opinion) and does so by killing off Billy Crystal's wife, whom Crystal wanted dead for stealing his novel. I don't want to spoil the jokes and gags in this film, but all I can say is that you must see this film if you want to laugh. Fast-paced and genuinely, a real treat to comedy lovers, and the type of film you just do not see today.***1/2 out of ****

gcd70 Danny De Vito shows us here he is definitely, indeed infinitely, a better on screen performer than off. He plays the part of Owen, a miserable would-be writer with a cranky old mother (delightfully played by Anne Ramsey) he would like to see dead. Billy Crystal is Larry, a very frustrated writing teacher who has an estranged wife he feels the same way about. So Owen, after viewing Hitchcock's "Strangers on a Train", suggests they swap murders.As director though, De Vito's control is inconsistent as he wastes this clever idea, while his film lurches from the very humorous to the very bland. He and Crystal are okay in the lead roles, but the show belongs to Anne Ramsey as the cantankerous Mrs. Lift.Saturday, June 20, 1992 - Video