“You all seem to be very anxious about something.”
Long before movie studios started crapping out adaptations of board games, like Battleship, Paramount brought Clue to the big screen. Clue was probably my favorite board game when I was a kid, and I’ve probably seen pieces of the movie on dozens of occasions, but before today I’d only seen the whole thing once.
Since the game’s premise is lifted straight from a classic narrative fiction setting, the dinner-party whodunit, its not surprising that it adapts well to the screen. The decision to make the movie a comedy, while probably not necessary, does seem to work. I tend to think that if it’d been palyed as a straight-ahead mystery, all the colorful characters, and various rooms and weapons used in the game, might not have worked.
The film is a good bit of fun, although it does have some pacing issues. It drags quite a bit in the middle, and ends franticly. Still, the cast is fantastic, with Tim Curry and Michael McKean really standing out. Colleen Camp camp is also very memorable as Yvette, although I wouldn’t go so far as to say that’s because of her acting ability.
Overall, it’s a fun ninety minutes, that manages to work as a comedy, and which also deserves credit for so cleverly incorporating all of the essential aspects from the game. It’s worth seeing.
[Clue (1985) - Directed by Jonathan Lynn - Rated PG]
