Without a Clue (1988)

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

the audience applauded

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

The story-telling is good with flashbacks.The film is both funny and heartbreaking. You smile in a scene and get a soulcrushing revelation in the next.

Drawn to its logical conclusion that Dr. Watson (played by Ben Kingsley)created the fictitious Sherlock Holmes, hired a buffoon, drunk, womanizing wastrel (Reginald Kincaid played by Michael Caine)to play the role. Watson tires of his character upstaging him--Watson, who is really the sleuth, the detective, the brain, and wishes to kill off this character he created. (Much like Conan Doyle tired of his fictional Sherlock Holmes who also upstaged him and killed him off with the story "The Adventure of the Final Problem" to have Holmes die in the Northern Swiss Alps at the Reichenbach Falls.) Back to the movie. Watson tells the editor of the Strand Magazine, which serializes the Holmes' stories, and the editor will have none of it. The Sherlock Holmes stories are a financial bonanza to the magazine. Worse news: the police or Scotland Yard's Inspector Lestrade (played by Jeffrey Jones) want none other than Sherlock Holmes to solve cases, no matter how diligent and intelligent Dr. Watson is.So Kincaid/Holmes must be found so the Strand can continue to make money as well as Dr. Watson. What ensues is unending hilarity, a hilarity matched only by Inspector Clouseau.Puns aplenty abound. Slight site gags slip soundlessly. And to top it off, there are all the elements of suspense, shock, deus ex machine to please the most dedicated deist, mystery, Holmes fencing with Moriarty (played by Paul Freeman), and in the end the comeuppance of evil and evildoers to please that most Eminent Victorian who would surely say: "We are indeed amused!"

"Without a Clue" is without a doubt one of the best movies of the comedy crime genre. British comedy of the late 20th century was up to par with early British cinema as this movie proves. Michael Caine and Ben Kingsley are riotously funny in their roles as Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson, respectively. Equally hilarious is Jeffrey Jones as Inspector Lestrade. Besides this film, another comedy crime film was made in Europe the same year – 1988, with Michael Caine and Steve Martin. "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" took place along the French Riviera – the Cote d'Azur. "Scoundrels" was a smashing success, this one wasn't. It's curious to me that they were first released in the U.S. and then in several other countries before England, several months later. "Scoundrels" was released two months after this film, and was the more widely promoted and distributed of the two. So, it is better known today. But "Without a Clue" is an equally brilliant comedy, if of a different design. "Scoundrels" is a wonderful situational film with great humor and competition between two (or more) types of scam operators. "Without a Clue" is a farce built on witty, hilarious dialog. I don't know whose idea it was, but this parody of Arthur Conan Doyle's super sleuth stories is fantastic. The writers did a superb job. In a nutshell, Doyle's Watson is changed from a chronicler of Holmes adventures to a writer of fiction. He is the creator of the character, whose shoes are filled by Caine's character, an all but unknown stage actor by the name of Reginald Kincaid. And, Watson is the brains behind the duo, and the only real super detective. In essence, Caine is the front in his fictitious character. Trouble is, it's all taking place right then and there in London, and the cases are very real. So the public is eating up the Sherlock Holmes mysteries and the character. Because the cases are real, he's real. It is sort of a flight of fancy to imagine that Watson is writing a story, Holmes is memorizing his part, and then the actual crime/case takes place. But, rather than wrestle with that, it's best to go with the flow of the movie to enjoy the humor. This is definitely not one that some describe for turning off one's brain. Do that and you'll miss much of the humor in the witty lines. Besides the dialog, this is a great comedy of expressions. That's where the acting comes in – for the sake of comedy. Just watch Watson's face as he rolls his eyes at another Holmes goof-up. Watch Lestrade's face as he raises his eyes as though trying to look into his head – wondering if there's anything in what he just heard or saw. And watch the smile and the twinkle in his eye as Holmes boastfully pontificates on his achievements in the case. And, by the way – Caine's Holmes is not a buffoon. He does have a brain and is capable of giving a good rejoinder when put on the spot. But, as Watson says, he's just incompetent and doesn't have a clue. Finally, there are a number of hilarious situations – the writers put comedic stuff in everywhere. Caine, ever the ham actor Kincaid, is basking in the adulation of his many admirers. But the brilliant Watson wasn't smart enough to realize the psychological effect this would have on him. Because after a while, he's not content to let Holmes have the glory from the success of his story – so to speak. He's envious of the praise heaped upon Holmes. He can't stand it when an "idiot" like Holmes – which he calls him, receives all the praise and adulation. Particularly since Holmes really doesn't have a clue in solving any of the cases. I don't know if there's a word for this type of writing and film. But, the English "Hollywood" folks did an outstanding job all around on it. The directing, cinematography, editing, sets and all technical aspects are wonderful. The musical score by Henry Mancini fits the film perfectly. And the writers with their superbly clever and witty script provide the fuel to make this such a hilarious comedy. The threesome of Caine, Kingsley and Jones pull this off in riotous order. I can only image the laughs and fun they must have had in the making of this movie.I so enjoy laughing and chuckling in a wonderful film such as this. This is one of those rare films that a person can watch time and again, without much time between viewings, and enjoy it anew with much healthy laughter. It's so funny and so good, it doesn't wear thin. It is there to enjoy for years to come. What a clever plot! What a funny, witty script! What superb and hilarious acting! This is what great cinema entertainment is supposed to be. "Without a Clue" joins "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" and a few dozen others in my library of 10-star comedy films.

The celebrated legendary fictional sleuth Sherlock Holmes becomes the source of much humour in this wacky comedy written by Gary Murphy & Larry Strawther and directed by Thom Eberhardt ("Night of the Comet"). The premise here is that Sherlock Holmes was an invention of the sly Dr. John Watson (Ben Kingsley), who loved to dabble in crime solving as well as work as a physician, and was forced to create Holmes as a cover so that his reputation in medicine would not be tarnished. He subsequently hired boozy, clueless actor Reginald Kincaid (Michael Caine) to play the role. The trouble for Watson is that nobody will take him seriously and they always want to talk to "Holmes", so Watson has to put up with his bumbling partners' ways as they set out to solve the case of missing plates (for printing money) and a missing employee from their mint. This works merely okay as a mystery, as it mainly mines all of its situations and characters for all of the laughs possible. It never really catches fire - so to speak - but is often engaging enough, and funny enough, to make for pleasant if not uproarious fare. The recreation of Victorian England is effective, and there are some atmospheric moments along the way. The real joy is in seeing Kingsley and Caine showing off their comedy chops; Kingsley basically plays the straight man and does a lot of reacting to Caines' appealing buffoonery. A fine supporting cast is just as enjoyable to watch: Paul Freeman (Belloq from "Raiders of the Lost Ark") as the nefarious Prof. Moriarty, Lysette Anthony as the fetching Leslie Giles, Jeffrey Jones as the intrepid Inspector Lestrade, who's portrayed as not being terribly competent himself, Nigel Davenport as the worried Lord Smithwick, Pat Keen as the angry Mrs. Hudson, and Peter Cook as grumpy Norman Greenhough. The movie does go on for quite a bit, losing a bit of its momentum at times, but the lively performances help to keep it always watchable. Caine is marvelous, whether he's goosing a woman or trying to break down the name Moriarty. (Arty Morty?) Overall, a good if not great comedy. Seven out of 10.

That sound you hear is Sir Arthur Conan Doyle spinning in his grave, from mirth more than outrage at the sorry state of his legendary Baker Street detective, depicted here as a bumbling third-rate actor living a role created by the real deductive genius and crime fighter: Dr. John Watson.It's a convenient (if sometimes slightly antagonistic) arrangement, with Watson finding the clues and Holmes getting the credit, and both Michael Caine and Ben Kingsley play the one-joke premise for all its worth, having a lot of fun with their respective characters. Caine is the idiotic, clumsy, lecherous and vain Sherlock Holmes, but Kingsley's Watson is no less temperamental: he has to solve the mysteries and match wits with the fiendish Moriarty while keeping his petulant alter ego under control.The plotting is conventional and Henry Mancini's cartoon music score makes the film sound at times like a mediocre sit-com, but it's a pleasure watching two award-winning talents trample a literary icon with such impeccable comic timing and malicious glee.