Whodunits

Lili’s Pick: Clue

Lanie’s Pick: Once Upon a Crime

Never critically-acclaimed but always adored, this week we explored the treacherous landscape of the whodunit—a category so vast and diverse, it’s the only genre where you’ll see the films of Alfred Hitchcock and Adam Sandler listed side by side. I believe the murder mystery is one of the most popular and ubiquitous themes across all media, including references within film, television, and music, and while some try to subvert the genre, many of them follow the same tried and true formula. Despite our ever-expanding expectations for mysteries and murders, though, the reliably ridiculous subgenre of whodunits almost never disappoint. Like most films that came before and after, our selections this week followed the typical whodunit blueprint: a cast of suspicious characters with unique idiosyncrasies, the death of someone whom we’ve barely gotten to know, and a series of hijinks and often more murders that only complicate the already tangled web of secrets. Clue was, as advertised, fun for the whole family, although it’s always a bit shocking to learn what constituted a “PG” rating back in the day. Overflowing with innuendos and sight gags and physical comedy, Clue was immensely hilarious. I loved its moments of self awareness, of its disbelief with itself, and its unrelenting commitment to be completely outrageous at every turn. This cast! And their ability to play the exact version of themselves that you want them to, while still making unexpected choices was just perfect. Tim Curry’s performance was so layered I could’ve sworn I heard tones of Dr. Frankenfurter and IT sneak out, and I think Leslie Ann Warren had a lit cigarette in her hand the entire time. Michael McKean and Christopher Lloyd can only play one kind of character (which I love) and Madeline Kahn can play literally anyone. For a movie so full of icons, it had no choice but to be iconic, and it absolutely was. Though based off of the board game, Clue seemed to take major inspiration from another foundational whodunit, Murder By Death—a film I mention only because it so often takes a backseat to Clue, when it’s arguably the first film to take such a scathingly comedic approach to the murder mystery. Clue, and its three different endings, delivered, in every way imaginable, and yet it still found ways of surprising. That brings us to Once Upon a Crime, a film that was surprising for other reasons, a film that was not afforded any of the hype and adoration other films in this category are given. This is the first and last film Eugene Levy ever directed, and one can kind of see why. Until I discovered that this was a remake of a 1962 Italian film Crimen, it felt a little like a movie him and some friends decided to make while they were chilling in Europe. There were a few continuity errors, some weird editing, and some plot points that were bizarre—even for a movie that promised to be nothing but ridiculous—and yet, it’s really not a bad movie. Among its questionable choices (and I’m not referring to Richard Lewis’ trademark hair) were some really decent ones, reminiscent of the whodunits that came before it. You can’t be mad at Eugene Levy, I’m sorry, but by law you cannot be mad at him. His presence guarantees laughter, though a cameo from Catherine O’Hara would’ve been appreciated, but Once Upon a Crime most certainly had its moments. This cast was also pretty impeccable, with Sean Young radiating some big Greta Gerwig energy, Richard Lewis (practically) just playing himself, Cybill Shepherd and Jim Belushi playing the most unrealistic couple, and John Candy going out of his comfort zone to play a buffoon. It was not well-received upon its release, with Sean Young specifically receiving a nomination for a Razzie award for Worst Supporting Actress—an unnecessarily demeaning concept made even more demeaning by the fact that she was definitely a Lead actress in this film. But terrible reception aside, this film certainly made an impact on some people: in 2006, the Bollywood director-duo Abbas–Mustan made a frame-by-frame, shot for shot remake of the film called 36 China Town, which I’m now of course working to find a place for in Double Feature Thursday. There are a truly overwhelming amount of movies within the category of murder mystery, all with deaths and secrets and twists that are bound to fit everyone’s preferences, but Clue and Once Upon a Crime represent two ends of the whodunit spectrum: the very polished, and the confusingly funny. For a genre so familiar and formulaic, these interpretations of the whodunnit are unique enough to stand alone—for better or for worse.