Throw Momma From the Train (1987)

“Hate makes you impotent, Love makes you crazy, somewhere in the middle you can survive.” – Larry

Number of Times Seen – at least 5 times (Cable in the 80’s and 90’s and 10 Nov 2014)

Brief Synopsis – A creative writing professor with writer’s block is approached by a student who suggests that they commit crisscross murders to get rid of the pains in their lives.

My Take on it – This is really the perfect companion film for Strangers on a Train (1951) which I just reviewed for Cinema Parrot Disco’s IMDB top 250 challenge.

Similar to Roxanne (1987) which was made the same year by Steve Martin and Scrooged (1988) by Bill Murray one year later, Danny Devito also chose a classic movie and modernized the storyline to give us a comic look at a serious story.

There are so many scenes that work so well here and the violent site gags that the characters take from each other are very laughable.

My favorite gag has to be the pay phone one which made me laugh really hard upon seeing it again.

As good as lead actors Danny Devito and Billy Crystal are, neither holds a candle up to the stuff that Anne Ramsey did here that helped her earn an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting actress for her role as Momma herself.  She was apparently extremely ill while filming but carried on with her performance despite her pain.

All in all, I think that this movie deals with the source material much better than the original because it makes the storyline more interesting while at the same time creating memorable characters and scenarios.

Can’t currently recall any other comedic adaptations like this, Scrooged (1988) and Roxanne (1987), so tell me if you can think of some other great ones.

Bottom Line – Hilariously done modern adaptation that in some ways does it better than the original. Crystal and Devito are amazing together. Recommended!

Rating – Globe Worthy

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