Penn & Teller Get Killed (1989)

Simply A Masterpiece

Good concept, poorly executed.

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

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.

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!

Penn and Teller Get Killed isn't what you'd call a triumph of skilled film-making. The primary function of the movie is to allow Penn and Teller to perform their routines and display their trademark style -- a style that has as much to do with their attitudes as it does their 'magic.' If you like them, you'll like the movie; if not, you probably won't.That said, the plot is interesting enough, and the film is not JUST a vehicle. The film itself really does reflect their twisted sensibility, and that may be its strongest point -- it's not just "Penn and Teller do some magic with a plot pasted on." It's really what you'd expect if someone allowed these two to make a movie. (The ending, in particular, is one of the strangest I've ever seen.) The film is perfectly Penn and Teller: it gets inside your head, twists things around, breaks some stuff, and leaves with a smile as you try and figure out what to do with the mess.

A movie no Penn & Teller fan would dream of being without. The first time I watched it, I was perplexed by the oddball atmosphere - this movie just doesn't play like a typical movie. Subsequent viewings have increased my fondness for it, though, and I keep finding more and more humour in it. So much of the humour comes from realizing that the jokes are not just inserted to make us laugh, but are the natural product of a very bizarre world that these two performers are inhabiting all the time. As Teller in a park catches pigeons with his bare hands, Penn says admiringly, "You're getting really good at that. You don't even hurt them anymore." Anymore? What has been going on between Teller and the pigeons all these years? The film is full of these little glimpses into a very weird world.

This movie is a must see for Penn and Teller fans. The story line reflects a lot about how the Bad Boys of Magic really act while on the road.The constant pranks are imminently entertaining. The movie drags a bit near the end, but leads up to a great surprise for fans of the magic twosome.The film may not sustain itself well for viewers who aren't very familiar with Penn and Teller. Still, you can't help but enjoy the frenzied nuttiness of the airport scene.