Penn & Teller Get Killed
Penn & Teller Get Killed
R | 22 September 1989 (USA)
Penn & Teller Get Killed Trailers

The "bad boys of magic" go over the edge in this mind-blowing, role-switching comedy murder mystery set in the dizzying world of Atlantic City casinos. In a TV interview, Penn mentions his idea of a fun practical joke: "I wish someone were trying to kill me. It would give focus to my life, excitement. I'd be like James Bond." Twenty million people hear him. One decides to deliver a punchline he'll never forget. Made by people who thought Psycho was a comedy, Penn & Teller Get Killed (they also wrote the piece) features Caitlin Clarke as the femme fatale and David Patrick Kelly as the Edgar Allan Poe-esque nutcase with a new mission. Arthur Penn, known for hip masterpieces like Bonnie and Clyde, Alice's Restaurant and Little Big Man, directs with roller-coaster pacing and subversive intelligence.

Reviews
antialiasis

I enjoyed Penn & Teller Get Killed. In fact, I loved it. However, I am also very aware that it takes a certain type of person to be able to appreciate it.The rather disjointed feel of much of it may turn you off. The scenes that don't seem to serve much of a purpose may turn you off. The anticlimax may turn you off. The dragged-out ending, or the weird pacing in general, may turn you off. The bizarre mix of seriousness and silliness may turn you off. The slightly hard-to-follow plot may turn you off. And if you're not a fan of black comedy, suffice it to say this movie is very unlikely to change your mind.But if you do love black comedy, if you enjoy a movie that delights in mixing hilarity with actual horror (as opposed to one where events that would be horrifying are made not so with humour), if you don't think those quirks I mentioned above will ruin your ability to enjoy it, then you should definitely give it a chance. You may just love it as much as I did.

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Elwood_Cooper

RANDOM STUFF IS THE BEST! Now that I've gotten that out of the way, I can continue. I've recently become attached to Penn & Teller and just got this movie which I had been waiting for for the past 2 weeks. I love Penn & Teller! I've seen their Magic and Mystery Tour, I own Bullsh*t! on DVD and any other way of observing them I've accomplished. This movie I couldn't wait to see because I knew it would be funny! And it was! Not only is the whole movie just a bunch of practical jokes, it's plain random! Random is good! When the movie was coming to a close and the punchline to the entire practical joke in the movie set in, I realized it was very much something that would've come from the mind of Andy Kaufman himself! That's was pure genius! If you ever get the chance to see this movie, watch it and you'll find it funny if you like random practical jokes! ALSO there is a bonus! You get to hear Teller speak! Oh yes! It's great, because you'll just think "boy does he sound weird!" but that's only because you've never heard it before- Thanks to the Egypt episode of the Magic and Mystery tour I had already heard it- So even just watch it to hear Teller's voice- It'll be great either way!

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CousCous

Being a big Penn and Teller fan, and after hearing about this movie I was looking forwards to seeing it, and was gratified when, on a lonely Friday night, I saw it was showing on TV.It started a little slowly, but I persevered, watching on. Yes it's a mildly amusing film. Certainly it gives us an insight into the world of the magicians, but when it comes down to it, it's simply a series of magic tricks strung together by a very thin plot. The tricks themselves are quite impressive, but in no way are they comparable to the magnificence of the duos live shows. It just doesn't compete. Worth watching but don't look forwards to anything special.

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Tell85

The first time I watched this movie, I was disappointed. The laughs, it seemed, had been few and far between. After watching it again, however, some of the more subtle jokes caught my attention (in a word, Teller's facial expressions), and I found myself watching it yet a third time, and actually enjoying it. In other words, it "grew" on me.

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