Another in my occasional series reappraising films after a couple of decades having not seen it, and alas "Clue" is disaster that not only hasn't stood the test of time, but makes me wonder why I couldn't see it all those years ago. Based on the board game; the film stars Tim Curry as Waddington, the Butler of Mr Boddy. Who gathers several of his masters Blackmail associates together ostensibly to help them understand that they are all in this together and to go to the police. However, when Mr Body comes home and discovers the group, the plans go awry and one of the guests murders him. As the guests attempt to determine which one of them is a murderer, and further bodies start to pile up, hilarity ensures.Except it doesn't. . There are a few weak puns. There are some jokes about a homosexual character that really haven't aged well but mostly there's just lots of running up and down, which I think the makers have confused with humour. It's tiresome both mentally and physically. It doesn't even hold the interest as a murder mystery, as there are no genuine clues that you can gather towards any of the three conclusions. Just stilted dialogue and forced performancesTim Curry is trying his best, I accept, but really wasn't given much to work with. There are some really talented supporting cast members too but all are undone by a witless underbaked script of backstory and nonsense.

CLUE is the only film that's based on a board game ever to be made. With this unusual concept in mind, you won't be sure of what to expect when seeing this film for the first time. I know I wasn't. But I do know that after seeing it for the first time, I would see it many more times over the years to come. And that's precisely what happened.The film plays out much like a stage farce in the sense that it's mostly on one set, with a simple concept that develops into something much more complex, with the characters losing control of the initial situation they find themselves in. Six people are invited to dinner at a manor house by an eccentric millionaire. When they arrive, they find things are not what they seem, especially the absence of their host. But it soon becomes apparent why they are there and a murder is committed. To say anything more would be to give too much away, suffice to say that the six people are based on the six suspects in the CLUE board game (Scarlett, Mustard, Green, White, Plum and Peacock). For anyone who's seen MURDER BY DEATH, this film is very similar in terms of plot and there are similarities in how it unfolds too.It's mainly the actors who make this film great and hold it together. Tim Curry is simply spellbinding as Wadsworth the butler. As far as I'm concerned, this is Curry at his best. I was honestly gripped by disbelief when I learned that his part was originally written for Leonard Rossiter. Great as though Rossiter was, this fast-paced running around farce-style comedy is really not his style. So I really don't think the film would have worked with him playing Wadsworth. It would have been a very different film that's for sure.So this is really Tim Curry's film and I always saw it that way right from the moment of the first viewing when I was 14. But as the years have gone on, I've come to appreciate the other actors more. Madeline Kahn is probably the best as Mrs White, who improvises her dialogue in a key scene towards the end of the film. The other actors all have fun with their roles, and Martin Mull's many exchanges with the others provide some of the finest and funniest moments in the film.Aside from the very spirited performances of the cast, one of the most enjoyable aspects of the film are the very funny one-liners. And it's hilarious watching the characters try to handle the many new situations they are thrown into as the film goes on. It's very much like a stage farce as I've said before. But since it's so difficult to translate this humour to the big screen, complete with the single set, then it's all the more reason for Jonathan Lynn and John Landis to be congratulated for pulling it off.The film also boasts a great soundtrack and the inclusion of some 1950s songs, particularly Shake, Rattle and Roll and Sh-boom, was a great choice. I for one prefer the use of Shake, Rattle and Roll for the end theme rather than the one originally intended.Overall, CLUE is a great farce-like film that boasts some great acting performances, a fast pace, lots of surprises and plenty of memorable one-liners. It's one of my all-time favourite comedies.

"Clue," the movie is based on the board game of the same name, originally produced in 1950. The characters and settings follow the game with the addition of the staff. But it seems to me that the Paramount folks were trying to follow the plot design from a decade earlier film. Neil Simon's "Murder by Death," was a 1976 blockbuster hit. Not so, this film. The acting is OK by most of the cast in "Clue." Tim Curry carries the bulk of the humor with his frantic running around. But the screenplay is almost devoid of witty and hilarious lines. It has none of the snappy or wacky dialog that characterizes the 1976 film. Even people today who may not have read or known of the great characters parodied in "Murder by Death" would find many laughs in that film. Simon's many plays on words and phrases – "Lionel Twain," "Two, two Twain," and similar lines are sure to get laughs yet today. Unfortunately, "Clue" doesn't have such a witty script. The movie failed to recover its budget when it came out, and in spite of something of a cult following that developed later, it's still just a fair comedy-mystery. Even with its gimmickry of three different endings in theaters, "Clue" couldn't rise above a mediocre film.

To be honest, I did not grow up playing this game. I kinda knew it had characters like Mr. Green and Scarlet, and it was like a detective game, but this kind of stuff never fascinated me. But boy was this movie extremely entertaining.I loved each and every one of the characters. They were all so interesting and funny and I cared a lot about them. I was on the edge of my seat throughout this whole movie wondering who was gonna die next, who was it, and what was gonna happen. Yeah. You can tell how amazingly shocked I was to find the alternate endings. Gosh that shocked me and the fact that the movie got me jumping in the air wondering what the heck just happened deserves recognition.Yeah everyone needs to see this movie. It was very good and very fun to watch. And I totally knew it was the butler ;)Yeah go watch this movie now.