tek's rating: ¼

Clue (PG)
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This is based on the popular board game (which of course I played when I was younger). The movie came out in 1985, but it's set in 1954. I saw it on TV at some point, but I'm not sure exactly when. And I finally watched it again on DVD in 2012, which is when I'm reviewing it. Um, apparently when it was originally in theaters, there were three different endings, and which one you saw depended on where you saw it. Which I think is kind of neat, but at the same time could be kind of annoying. But since I never saw it in a theater, it doesn't really affect me. If you watch it on video, you can see all three endings; I don't remember if this was done when I saw it on TV, but probably so. Honestly, I don't remember anything about it, from when I first saw it. Hmmm... I wonder... no, never mind.

Anyway... it has a great cast. Tim Curry as Wadsworth (the butler), Michael McKean as Mr. Green, Christopher Lloyd as Professor Plum, Madeline Kahn as Mrs. White, Martin Mull as Colonel Mustard, Lesley Ann Warren as Miss Scarlet, and Eileen Brennan as Mrs. Peacock. I know most of them from other stuff. I should maybe mention there are a number of different categories into which I could have placed my review... it's definitely a comedy, it's kind of quirky, it's technically a period piece, and it's a mystery (a category I didn't have until several years after writing this review). Um, but yeah... I kind of want to call it "weird." You know, funny weird.

So, these six people get invited to a mansion, having been sent mysterious letters that don't really explain what's going on. But they're instructed to use pseudonyms. They're greeted by Wadsworth; the only other people who are supposed to be in the mansion are the maid, Yvette, and the cook. Oh, and a seventh guest, who arrives late... Mr. Boddy. It's soon revealed that Mr. Boddy had been blackmailing each of the other six guests for years. But who had called them all together remained a mystery... at first. It turns out that Wadsworth had sent the letters to each of them, wanting to expose Mr. Boddy's crime so he could go to jail. However, Mr. Boddy gave each of the guests a gift... six different weapons (which are familiar from the game). He told them if they exposed his blackmail, their secrets would also be exposed. But if they killed Wadsworth, then no one would have to know about any of their crimes. He turned out the lights... and when they came back on, Mr. Boddy was dead. (I really don't think he'd thought his plan through very well.)

Basically, the rest of the movie consists of the six guests, plus Wadsworth and Yvette, searching the house and trying to figure out who the killer was, before the police arrived. In the course of the movie, there are other murders besides that of Mr. Boddy, but I won't say who or how many were killed. The whole thing is quite ridiculous, especially toward the end, when Wadsworth figures everything out, and starts explaining it. I'm not sure how much sense any of it made, but it was certainly amusing. And I can't think what else to say.


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