One of the funniest and quotable comedies of all time.
In the mid 1980’s, writer/director Jonathon Lynn was tasked with the bizarre task of taking a board game, creating a plot around it, and to make that story into a movie. The game was the murder mystery game, Clue. Fortunately for Lynn, the film benefits from one of the greatest ensemble casts of all time.
The Clue Cast
The six suspects are pulled directly from the game. These include Mrs. White (Madeline Khan), Mrs. Peacock (Eileen Brennan), Miss Scarlett (Lesley Ann Warren), Col. Mustard (Martin Mull), Professor Plum (Christopher Lloyd) and Mr. Green (Michael McKean.) These characters are written as ridiculous versions of the game’s entities. Each of the cast members dives in and the results are hilarious.
The film adds in some ancillary characters including the cook, Yvette the maid, and Mr. Boddy who is blackmailing all of them. The glue to the entire movie is Wadsworth, the butler, played by Tim Curry in arguably his best role. Wadsworth gets the majority of the long monologues, is the center of a dozen or so prat falls, and routinely engages in super quick Aaron Sorkin style dialogue.
The Clue Story
The initial setup is similar to that of the game. The six guests arrive and are given pseudonyms. Soon, they realize that they are all connected. When Mr. Boddy arrives, he gives them each weapons and offers them a chance to kill Wadsworth and keep themselves from getting exposed.
From there, the story adds other accomplices. They each get picked off one at a time. The brilliant twist in theaters was that the film had three different endings. The home version included all three versions. The endings tie things up with different killers. Re-watching the movie is not only a delight for the comedy, but an opportunity to see how the characters disappear to become that version of the ending.
The Clue Dialogue
The film is worth watching any number of times. There are a ton of signature lines and the physical comedy of Curry and McKean is timeless. Curry then turns vocal acrobatics with Mull who plays Mustard like an overwhelmed dolt.
Some lines remain top of mind, like the “let us in, let us out” debate. The number of shots fired is another classic back and forth. Perhaps better than any other line is Khan’s famously ad-libbed piece about her hatred for Yvette.
Extras
I had a chance to attend Clue as a watch party at Alamo Cinema and Drafthouse. Viewers were treated to props including flashlights, bells and inflatable weapons. It was amazing to see how many folks in the theater could quote nearly every line. We met three viewers dressed as characters from the film. The mother next to us brought her two teenage daughters who recited every line from the film. This was a great chance to revisit the film in the movie theater.
