Danny DeVito took a turn directing this dark comedy, and also plays Owen, a put-upon middle-aged man dominated by his overbearing momma(played indelibly by Anne Ramsey) who attends the writing class of Larry(played by Billy Crystal) a frustrated writer with a horrid ex-wife who stole his novel and got rich as a result. Owen gets the idea to swap murders with Larry(directly referencing "Strangers On A Train") which he doesn't take seriously, until his ex-wife is reported dead, and now wants Larry to kill his momma, though momma proves quite hard to kill... Though undeniably funny at times(Anne Ramsey in particular is superb) this film's ending undermines it, and was in desperate need of a rewrite itself...or is that the final joke of the picture? One of those films that is less than the sum of its parts.

This is a rip off but at least it's a shameless rip off. Director DeVito has Professor Billy Crystal talk Danny DeVito the actor into "going to see a Hitchcock movie" if he wants to learn about motives. DeVito sees the scene in "Strangers on a Train" in which the two stars agree, more or less, to swap murders.The reason DeVito wants to learn about motives and how they function in police procedures is that he wants to murder his foul-mouthed, ugly, domineering mother and get away with it. He can't, of course, because he so obviously hates her. But, as in "Strangers on a Train," he decides to swap murders with Crystal. He'll kill Crystal's hated wife in return for Crystal's killing De Vito's mother.It doesn't work out. One thing after another goes wrong. The things that go wrong are supposed to be funny but most of them aren't. There's an abundance of slapstick, with people running back and forth in a frenzy, people hiding from others, people falling off ships, people hanging by their heels from a train.DeVito is a smart guy and a clever director sometimes. Anyone who directed the black comedy "The War of the Roses" can't be completely clumsy. But he's pretty awkward here, given to obvious shots of himself approaching the camera pop-eyed and wearing black gloves when attempting to snuff Crystal's wife. It's almost embarrassing.Crystal, too, can be extremely amusing as the ordinary guy swept up into some nightmarish scenario, as he was in "Analyze This!" I'd put off watching this because the trailers all featured the same shot. DeVito and Crystal are at the table. DeVito shovels scrambled eggs into their plates, then hits Crystal over the head with the frying pan. BONK! And Crystal falls down. I figured, "If this is the best it's got, I might as well skip it." It's almost the best it's got.

We're living in sad times today, in which it seems like every comedy movie and TV show is painfully unfunny and inflicted with cheap, crude, or poor humor. Most people don't know what it means to really laugh at a comedy, and these people desperately need to watch "Throw Momma From the Train." I say with little hesitation that this is one of the funniest movies I've ever seen, from beginning to end. The comedy is so unpredictable and twisted just enough to make us laugh out loud many times throughout. Don't be fooled by the murder plot. The plot is not serious enough to make us care or worry about what's going to happen. The story involves a young man (Danny DeVito) who wants to get rid of his annoying, grouchy mother (Anne Ramsey, nominated for an Oscar in a role that was completely flawless, in my opinion) and does so by killing off Billy Crystal's wife, whom Crystal wanted dead for stealing his novel. I don't want to spoil the jokes and gags in this film, but all I can say is that you must see this film if you want to laugh. Fast-paced and genuinely, a real treat to comedy lovers, and the type of film you just do not see today.***1/2 out of ****

A deliciously nasty black comedy about a middle-aged schlub (Danny DeVito) who wants to bump off his mother and hatches a plan to do so with a bitter divorcée, who wants to bump off HIS ex-wife. The movie is completely unapologetic in its cynicism, and gives us no one to like, but for once that works in the movie's favor rather than as a turn off.Anne Ramsey, as DeVito's battle axe mom, steals the show in a grotesquely funny performance. Even though she's a horror, you end up rooting for her, because it seems like she could kick both DeVito's and Crystal's asses at the same time with both hands tied behind her back.Grade: B+