lolidunno16
I give this movie a 5/10. I have incredibly mixed reviews on this. So this movie is a comedy. It's not funny in the slightest. I laughed exactly once. I felt that this movie contained cliché after cliché. Maybe in 1987 some of these movie elements weren't so cliché. I would list them but I want to keep the review spoiler-free. I also thought the ending was incredibly stupid and predictable. The supposed "twist" about Margaret's fate was as obvious as all get out. That being said, although I didn't laugh, I did get very engrossed in this story. It left me wondering, was Billy Crystal actually going to do it? I found the crisscross idea very clever. This movie had potential, but it just wasn't the gem it could've been, in my opinion.The word that came to mind after the movie ended was Meh. Not something I'd actively seek out to watch again, but it was semi- enjoyable nonetheless.5/10 for mixed opinions.
SmileysWorld
I recently stumbled across this film again after many years while channel surfing and soon I found myself laughing to beat the band.I had seen it years earlier when it was new.I'm not sure why I steered clear of it in subsequent years.Maybe it's under-rooted disturbing theme of murder.At any rate,I found myself engrossed in this film.Despite being dark around the edges,it really is an entertaining film.Billy Crystal was still in his prime,as was DeVito,and Anne Ramsey was a delight as "Momma"..Now that I have revisited this comedy gem that I had apparently forgotten,I will be looking to put it on the DVD shelf in the near future.
FlashCallahan
Larry Donner is an author and writing professor who tutors people that want to write books. His life has become a misery when his ex-wife Margaret has published a book he wrote under her name and has become rich over it. Owen Lift, one of Larry's students, offers Larry to kill Margaret, and in return Owen, wants Larry to kill his mother. Larry thinks it's a joke, until he learns Owen has killed his ex-wife. And Larry has now become the prime suspect....Crystal has always been a great screen presence, and Kudos to Devito for taking a back seat and let the other actors take all the best lines and best scenes.It starts off pretty tame, we have Crystal, whining and moaning in every scene, and then Devito, the quiet oddball you know is going to annoy him, so far, so average.But then we get properly introduced to Ramsey, who is just brilliant in her role, and once Crystal has become trapped in Owens house, it never lets up.It's a really dark comedy, but it has such a sweet edge to it, which is evident when Owen talks about his father and especially when he shows Larry his coin collection, which is an incredibly touching scene.But hen Devito doesn't dwell on the sweetness too long, and soon brings Ramsey in to shout a random line (in one particular scene a very random line, which made me rewind several times to see if my hearing was okay).All in all, its a very fun movie, with a slow start, and a fond nod to Hitchcock, with a surprisingly schmaltz free ending.Very underrated
TedMichaelMor
Danny DeVito is a national treasure. His film "Throw Momma from the Train" utterly delights me. I feel inadequate to write about this wonderful work. It is superb on many levels. "Did I come at a bad time," Owen asks. No, this film provides a wonderful time.I accept complaints by critics about the film missing comedic veins or occasions. I do not think that the script is thin as much as parsimonious so that it can exploit the gentle whimsy at the core of the narrative. Owen is really a lovely fellow, with his childlike coin collection and joy at seeing cows. While I might want to know more about his momma, I do not need to know more than the sketch she is for the story. The twist on the coin collection is the counterpoint to the oppressive mother and former wife characters.As I said, the film is terrific. First, Danny DeVito is a great character actor, comedian, and director. Second, Stu Silver wrote a sufficiently tight if not relentlessly funny script. Third, Anne Ramsey's speech impediment caused by her operation for throat cancer somehow sounds the central tone of the film. Ms. Ramsey is over-the-top but it works. I have no idea why. Third, Billy Crystal is a master comedic actor. He is an underrated player in spite of his success. Fourth, Barry Sonnenfeld, the cinematographer, is one of the most gifted people in cinema today. Fifth, Michael Joblow's excellent editing is faultless. Sixth, David Newman cannot write a bad score. Seventh, all the players, except Ms. Ramsey, play their roles straight. I love the deadpan Kate Mulgrew as she creates someone you want to kill as much as you want to kill the nightmare momma Owen deserves to eliminate. Kim Griest provides the realism that make the narration emotionally grounded.I admit that sometimes the plot does seem a tad contrived—especially the train ride. I did not quite see why the players were on the train except maybe somehow to make the title seem appropriate. Some of the car scenes might be excessive and beside the point. The repeated joke about the first line of a novel wears thin. None of that really matters. The film is close to a ten; maybe I underrated it.
AD
