Throw Momma from the Train (1987)

Simply Perfect

People are voting emotionally.

A Disappointing Continuation

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

Larry Donner (Billy Crystal) is an author suffering from writer's block. He hates his ex-wife Margaret (Kate Mulgrew) who stole his book, and published the best seller as her own. Owen Lift (Danny DeVito) is one of Larry's clueless writing students. He hates his hateful mother (Anne Ramsey). Owen keeps stalking Larry about his writing about murder. When Larry suggests Owen watch Alfred Hitchcock's 'Strangers on a Train', Owen assumes that Larry is saying that he will kill Owen's mother if Owen kills Larry's ex-wife. Then Owen goes to Hawaii to kill Margaret. The problem is that Larry has no alibi, the cops are on his case, and Owen expects Larry to kill his mother.This is a great dark comedy. Danny DeVito is terrific as the idiot. Billy Crystal is neurotic and angry. They have great chemistry together. Anne Ramsey is the best ugly bully. It's Danny DeVito's big screen directorial debut. He does a good job letting the actors room to work. It is well worth a watch.

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.

Danny DeVito is a national treasure. His film "Throw Momma from the Train" utterly delights me. I feel inadequate to write about this wonderful work. It is superb on many levels. "Did I come at a bad time," Owen asks. No, this film provides a wonderful time.I accept complaints by critics about the film missing comedic veins or occasions. I do not think that the script is thin as much as parsimonious so that it can exploit the gentle whimsy at the core of the narrative. Owen is really a lovely fellow, with his childlike coin collection and joy at seeing cows. While I might want to know more about his momma, I do not need to know more than the sketch she is for the story. The twist on the coin collection is the counterpoint to the oppressive mother and former wife characters.As I said, the film is terrific. First, Danny DeVito is a great character actor, comedian, and director. Second, Stu Silver wrote a sufficiently tight if not relentlessly funny script. Third, Anne Ramsey's speech impediment caused by her operation for throat cancer somehow sounds the central tone of the film. Ms. Ramsey is over-the-top but it works. I have no idea why. Third, Billy Crystal is a master comedic actor. He is an underrated player in spite of his success. Fourth, Barry Sonnenfeld, the cinematographer, is one of the most gifted people in cinema today. Fifth, Michael Joblow's excellent editing is faultless. Sixth, David Newman cannot write a bad score. Seventh, all the players, except Ms. Ramsey, play their roles straight. I love the deadpan Kate Mulgrew as she creates someone you want to kill as much as you want to kill the nightmare momma Owen deserves to eliminate. Kim Griest provides the realism that make the narration emotionally grounded.I admit that sometimes the plot does seem a tad contrived—especially the train ride. I did not quite see why the players were on the train except maybe somehow to make the title seem appropriate. Some of the car scenes might be excessive and beside the point. The repeated joke about the first line of a novel wears thin. None of that really matters. The film is close to a ten; maybe I underrated it.

This is a comedy version of "Strangers on a Train". It works pretty well. I am a harsh grader, so the 3 rating reflects mostly on the characters and plot. The performances are extremely good, all of them. Of course, the two stars, DeVito and Crystal, shine most. Each performer acts well enough to play off of. The comedy works in a level just short of slapstick. DeVito characters work best when depraved. His character, portrayed as a writing hack, would probably be more real if he was published and lauded as much as most hacks are. His character would, in real life, have a great agent and multiple solicitations. The characters are one dimensional, which is okay in comedy. But Crystals's character is not written very well. His desire to kill the "moma" all of a sudden makes no sense at all. It looks like a pitiful attempt at humor. The pitiful attempts are not too often, and the movie flows fairly well.