Movie Review: Throw Momma From The Train (1987)

Genre: Comedy  

Director: Danny DeVito  

Starring: Billy Crystal, Danny DeVito, Anne Ramsey, Kim Greist  
Running Time: 88 minutes  

Synopsis: Aspiring writer and college teacher Larry (Billy Crystal) is suffering from severe writer's block, and is openly outraged that his ex-wife Margaret stole his book idea and produced a best seller. Owen (Danny DeVito) is one of Larry's students and living under the thumb of his domineering and verbally abusive Momma (Anne Ramsey). Inspired by Hitchcock's Strangers On A Train, Owen plots the murder of Margaret, presuming that in return Larry will murder Momma.

What Works Well: Danny DeVito and Billy Crystal establish good comic rapport, and Anne Ramsey is memorably monstrous as Momma. The production values are high, and DeVito adds interesting (if sometimes obtrusive) directorial touches.

What Does Not Work As Well: None of the characters are likeable, and the script unfortunately surrenders to a single derivative idea torpedoed by weak execution. Even with the short running time, the lack of wit surfaces through tired repetition (Larry stuck on the opening line of his book; and repeatedly losing all control at the mere mention of his ex-wife); and scenes that just add padding (Owen intruding on Margaret's amorous activities in Hawaii). The tone is often awkwardly caught between evil intent, satire, shouty slapstick, dark comedy, and cutesiness.

Key Quote:

Owen: Larry! I can't breathe!

Larry: Yes! That's because I'm choking you!

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Movie Review: Parental Guidance (2012)

A family comedy, Parental Guidance offers healthy doses of playfulness and sentimentality as it explores generational shifts in attitudes towards parenting.

The aging Artie Decker (Billy Crystal) is fired from his job as sports commentator for a Fresno minor league baseball team for being behind the times on social media. Artie and his wife Diane (Bette Midler) are soon asked to babysit their grand kids in Atlanta for a week. Artie's daughter Alice (Marisa Tomei) and her husband Phil (Tom Everett Scott) are a busy modern day couple with three kids: daughter Harper (Bailee Madison) is a tightly wound over-achiever, middle son Turner suffers from a stutter, and the youngest son Barker has an imaginary kangaroo friend.

Artie and Diane have a distant relationship with Alice and her family, and Diane seizes on the babysitting opportunity to try and become a better grandparent. But Alice does not trust her parents, and for good reason: Artie bumble his way into disrupting the kids' routine and undoing Alice's careful parenting methods, as his more blunt and old fashioned values clash with more modern touchy-feely upbringing attitudes.

Directed by Andy Fickman, Parental Guidance aims for amiable and achieves it. The film stays well within a family-friendly domain, and allows Billy Crystal to do what he does best as a youngish grandpa providing caustic commentary on a world moving away from his level of comfort. The comedy is mild but constant, the emotions do creep towards mushy as everyone goes looking for a happy ending, but overall, the film squarely hits its intended if admittedly modest target.

Without breaking any new ground, Parental Guidance pokes away at some worthwhile themes. The clash between more strict, discipline-oriented parenting and the more modern values-based approach quickly comes to the fore, and the film wisely acknowledges imperfections in both philosophies. The story starts with Alice a continent and a lifetime away from her father, his methods clearly having been less than stellar in establishing a lifelong relationship. But Alice and Phil will also learn some lessons from Artie and Diane, with one week of grand parenting shock therapy sufficient to shake the kids loose from some coddled constraints.

Crystal, Midler and Tomei provide plenty of reliable adult talent, while the kids also deserve credit for achieving realism and avoiding excess cutesiness in favour of embracing the anxieties and pressures that come with growing up in a complex world.

Parental Guidance offers the one truth about parenting: everyone does it wrong, but with a sense of humour, that's alright.

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The Movies Of Billy Crystal

All movies starring Billy Crystal and reviewed on the Ace Black Movie Blog are linked below:

This Is Spinal Tap (1984)

The Princess Bride (1987)

Throw Momma From The Train (1987)

When Harry Met Sally...(1989)

City Slickers (1991)

Analyze This (1999)

America's Sweethearts (2001)

Parental Guidance (2012)

The Comedian (2016, as himself)

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The Movie Star Index is here.

Movie Review: The Princess Bride (1987)

A fantasy romance comedy, The Princes Bride rides a wave of seductive cheekiness and delivers for both adults and their kids.

Grandpa (Peter Falk) visits his sick grandson (Fred Savage) and reads to him The Princess Bride. The story is set in medieval times, in a land ruled over by the evil Prince Humperdinck (Chris Sarandon) and his brutal head henchman Count Tyrone Rugen (Christopher Guest). Buttercup (Robin Wright) is a beautiful young woman who loves to ride her horse. She falls deeply in love with her farm boy Westley (Cary Elwes), but they are separated when he goes off to find his fortune. Word arrives that Westley has been captured and likely killed by the Dread Pirate Roberts.

Humperdinck chooses Buttercup to be his bride, but his real intent is to start a war for personal gain. Humperdinck hires master criminal Vizzini (Wallace Shawn) and his gang, consisting of the giant Fezzik (Andre the Giant) and master swordsman Inigo Montoya (Mandy Patinkin), to kidnap Buttercup, kill her and blame the death on a neighbouring kingdom. A mysterious masked man in black gives chase, eventually disposing of Vizzini, rescuing Buttercup and escaping into the scary Fire Swamp. The masked man turns out to be Westley, coming back to reclaim his true love. But Humperdinck will not give up easily, and the lovers will need to overcome captivity and torture to seal their destiny.

Directed by Rob Reiner and breezily written by William Goldman, The Princess Bride is part romance adventure, part swashbuckler, and all clever satire. The package could not be any more perfect, as the film delivers action, thrills, laughs and pure first love for younger audience members, while maintaining a glint-in-the-eye edge of evil wit for their parents.

The overarching theme of true-love-will-conquer-all hovers over the film like an exquisite rainbow, and at the heart of the movie Robin Wright and Cary Elwes deliver honest performances full of heroism underpinned by the conviction that no matter what, they belong together. But The Princess Bride shines because of the diversity of interesting characters and sub-stories, and Goldman excels in creating a world of colourful scoundrels and side kicks. The charismatic Inigo Montoya carries a major revenge sub-plot of his own, and Mandy Patinkin has rarely been better as Inigo forces his way into a co-lead role with Buttercup and Westley. The transformation of Inigo and the giant Fezzik from bad guys to good allies is another strong anchor theme in the film, and the two also provide a steady stream of humour.

And our heroes have not one, not two, but three villains to contend with. Humperdinck may be the head antagonist, and he emerges as a paper tiger, a man equal parts unearned power and distasteful cowardice. More potent is the darkly menacing Count Tyrone, a heartless torturer with a well-earned reputation for ruthlessness. Meanwhile, in a relatively brief but unforgettable role, Wallace Shawn creates in Vizzini an inconceivably irritating criminal, a short man ruling over his gang with smarts until he outsmarts himself in a cerebral confrontation with the masked man in black. Billy Crystal and Carol Kane show up in small and campy comic relief parts.

Reiner respects the setting of his story and does not shy away from some mildly disturbing scenes of torture, and adds blood when necessary to emphasize the outcome of key sword battles. As a counterbalance and to relieve any mounting tension, a large part of the film's charm resides in the frequent returns to the grandson's bedroom, as he starts out full of skepticism but gradually warms up to all the thrills and yes, smoochy romance that the story being read by grandpa has to offer. For the young and old alike, The Princess Bride casts an immaculate magical spell.

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Movie Review: America's Sweethearts (2001)

A romantic comedy and a satire on the business of marketing movies, America's Sweethearts has enough talent to amble along, but not enough zest to rise above genre conventions.

Publicist Lee Phillips (Billy Crystal) is tasked by studio head Dave Kingman (Stanley Tucci) to organize and host a successful junket for the latest film starring Gwen Harrison (Catherine Zeta-Jones) and Eddie Thomas (John Cusack). Frequent co-stars, married to each other, and fan favourites, Gwen and Eddie can longer stand each other, the relationship ruptured by Gwen taking on the hunky Hector (Hank Azaria) as a lover, leaving Eddie an emotional wreck. Lee connects with Gwen's sister and main handler Kiki (Julia Roberts) to try and stage a reconciliation to salvage the film.

Matters are not helped by eccentric director Hal Weidmann (Christopher Walken) refusing to submit a copy of the new movie until the last minute, meaning that Lee has to organize the junket and occupy the press with no certainty of having a product to show them. With Kiki's help Lee uses every trick in the book to revive interest in the Gwen and Eddie collaboration. Both attend the media launch at a hotel in the Nevada desert, leading to unexpected romantic complications that threaten to derail Lee's intentions, while Weidmann's late appearance adds an unexpected dose of chaos.

Directed by Joe Roth with Billy Crystal co-producing and co-writing, America's Sweethearts offers a steady level of enjoyment, an excellent cast and many good laughs. It is also broadly predictable, offers little depth and hardly any meaningful character evolution. There is a vague old fashioned whiff about the film, a sense of throwback to the screwball era when banter trumped irony.

The film's brightest moments are courtesy of the secondary characters. Some of the best laughs come courtesy of Gwen's dog, who effortlessly steals the three scenes that he's in. In a brief role, Christopher Walken as the conceited Hal Weidmann, a throwback to the mad genius era of directors, is also delicious. The character of Hector is over-the-top funny, and borders on something out of a cartoon.

Less interesting and much more familiar are the battles of the heart between Eddie, Gwen and Kiki, and overall there is more satire and comedy than romance in America's Sweethearts. Crystal gives his own Lee Phillips some good lines, the film offering a barrage of zingers targeting the depths to which publicists will go to promote a movie or obfuscate its lack of relevance. Outright lies, stroking star egos, and strategic leaks to the press are all in a day's work for Lee, as all publicity is good publicity to generate the necessary buzz. With no movie to offer, Lee puts the junk in junket and feeds the media a diet of celebrity gossip involving Eddie and Gwen. Hardly anyone notices that the movie event has no movie.

Meanwhile Cusack and Zeta-Jones play up stereotypes about celebrities primarily concerned with nursing their egos. Eddie is deeply damaged by Gwen's betrayal, spending months in recovery with faux wellness guru (Alan Arkin) serving up useless platitudes. Zeta-Jones is perfect as the star who genuinely, deeply, understands that the world and the sun revolve around her. Julia Roberts delivers the most engaging performance, Kiki having recently lost a lot of weight, growing tired of being bossed by her sister, and feeling empowered to pursue a long-term crush on the one man she thought she could never have.

America's Sweethearts is lighthearted fun sparked by pointed commentary about the film industry, with a stellar cast providing an attractive gloss of quality.

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Movie Review: When Harry Met Sally...(1989)

A delightful romantic comedy, When Harry Met Sally... established the new standard for the genre. Warm-hearted, funny and quirky, the film's two main star-crossed protagonists grow ever more likeable as they tentatively take their multi-year journey towards a cupid-defined destiny.

It's 1977. New graduates Harry (Billy Crystal) and Sally (Meg Ryan) share an 18 hour drive from the University of Chicago to New York, where they are both starting their careers, Harry as a lawyer and Sally in journalism. Prior to the drive they don't know each other, but during the journey they become sure that they don't like each other: Harry is an arrogant, fast-talking pessimist who is sure that he has the world already figured out. Sally is detail-oriented and a bit uppity. They argue about everything, including whether a man and woman can be just friends. Harry does not believe it to be possible: the sex part always gets in the way. Sally convinces herself that Harry is a creep because he seems to be coming onto her despite already having a girlfriend. They arrive in New York and coldly part ways.

Five years later, they accidentally meet again during a flight. Harry is mellowing a bit, now engaged to Helen, but still a motor-mouth with all the answers. Sally is in the throes of a deepening relationship with Joe, and optimistically love-struck. Although more civilized, they again part ways as soon as the flight lands.

Five years further on, they meet again at a New York bookstore. Both relationships have ruptured badly. Harry is heartbroken by the breakup of his marriage to Helen, while Sally is trying to hold herself together despite Joe leaving her because he did not want to start a family and she did. Gradually, Harry and Sally become best friends, sharing all the details, joys, and sorrows of their lives, supporting each other and developing a deep bond of dependence and affection while continuing to date other people. Sally's best friend Marie (Carrie Fisher) and Harry's best friend Jess (Bruno Kirby) also end up in a relationship together.

Sally is devastated when she hears that Joe is getting married and starting a family with a younger woman. When Harry comes to her apartment to comfort her, they end up making love, shattering the basis of their friendship. Harry and Sally have to decide whether or not to pick up the pieces and turn the wreckage of a friendship into the green roots of a romance.

The success of When Harry Met Sally... is based on a Nora Ephron script that works diligently to create two fully-rounded characters. The mannerisms, reactions, and emotions of Harry and Sally are established early on when they are brash graduates, and gradually evolve, soften and mature as life gently but surely scrubs away the edges. Director Rob Reiner guides the romance with a gentle hand, delicately adding New York City garnishings to create a perfect but understated feast.

Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan were both catapulted into deserved stardom for their performances. Crystal had earlier made an impression in The Princess Bride and Throw Momma From The Train (both also directed by Reiner), but his performance as Harry elevated him into a leading star as a sensitive comic talent. Harry's journey is the more pronounced, including a detour into a long friendship that threatens to disprove his theory about friendships between men and women, but he then has to endure a lot of pain and no pleasure when the inevitable intervention of "the sex part" indeed proves his initial belief to be true.

Meg Ryan was designated as America's sweetheart and leading romantic lady after her performance as Sally. Defiant yet vulnerable, argumentative yet appealing, and attractive yet down to earth, Sally is most memorable for being so real: she captures, with just a dash of comic exaggeration, deeply human traits found in most women. And her impressive fake public orgasm in a New York deli immediately entered the hall of fame of classic movie scenes.

The central theme of the film is the nature of friendship between men and women, and the movie's warmest moments portray Harry and Sally as friends. There is a magical emotional depth to the scenes portraying the couple becoming platonic soul mates, and the film provides a complex answer to its core conundrum: yes, a strong bond of friendship may be formed between a man and a woman, but perhaps such a deep connection is really a pilot light for a flame waiting to be lit.

It takes them a long time, but not only do Harry and Sally finally realize that they are meant for each other, they also join the distinguished ranks of most memorable movie characters.

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Movie Review: Analyze This (1999)

A mobster comedy with a sharp wit and two leading actors in their prime having fun bouncing off each other.

Paul Vitti (Robert De Niro) is a New York mobster boss with a problem: he's losing his edge, crying at sappy TV commercials and having panic attacks. He is also the target of other gangsters who want to eliminate Vitti ahead of a large meeting of mob bosses. Vitti turns to psychiatrist Ben Sobel (Billy Crystal) for help. Sobel not only wants nothing to do with a mobster boss who has manhood issues, he's also trying to have a vacation and get married to Laura (Lisa Kudrow).

Vitti nevertheless barges into Sobel's life - repeatedly - to seek therapy, and soon Vitti's allies want Sobel killed because he knows too much, and the FBI want Sobel to betray Vitti.

The clever premise of Analyze This is professionally polished by director Harold Ramis, working with a script full of sharp dialogue, uncontrolled profanity, and a couple of astute references to The Godfather. De Niro and Crystal are never less than entertaining, and the scenes between them are the highlights of the film. Crystal provides a more sane anchor to the proceedings, while De Niro lets loose with a comic version of a mobster in distress. Joe Viterelli as Jelly, Vitti's robust main henchman, emerges as almost the third star of the film.

There are some weaknesses: a promising dysfunctional relationship between Dr. Sobel and his dad is introduced but not followed up on, while the film does not manage to avoid some wild Hollywood excesses, both in terms of flying bullets that seem to hit no one, and the over-cooking of the drama between Vitti and his deceased father.

But Analyze This succeeds where it matters most: two terrific actors analyzing each other and jointly delivering a bright, captivating diagnosis.

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Movie Review: City Slickers (1991)

Three friends hit middle age in various stages of crisis: Mitch (Billy Crystal) is stuck in a dead-end job; Ed (Bruno Kirby) has never resolved issues related to his father; and Phil (Daniel Stern) hates his wife and is having an affair. The three head-off to a cattle-drive vacation in the southwest. The trio evolve from hapless city folks to hardened cowboys and are unexpectedly forced to take charge of delivering the cattle.

A comedy that mostly strikes a fine balance between laughs and exploring the meaning of life, City Slickers works thanks to the appeal of the three lead actors, and a sharp cameo from 73 year old Jack Palance, in an Oscar-winning role as Curly, the lead cowboy on the cattle drive. Curly is tough as nails but helps Mitch to rediscover what matters in life.

The film doesn't escape some poor cliches, including an over-the-top raging river scene, secondary characters that are firmly trapped in a single dimension, and simplistic syrupy resolutions to major challenges in the lives of the three men.

But the screenplay (Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel) and Ron Underwood's directing maintain a decent amount of forward momentum, the laughs are plentiful, and some of the cinematography revisits the vistas of the grand classic westerns.

Along with 1989's When Harry Met Sally, City Slickers helped to establish Billy Crystal as one of the comic stars of the early 1990's. He nails the jaded Mr. Everyman who has long since lost his spark, and he delivers an endless stream of clever one-liners with understated finesse. Daniel Stern and Bruno Kirby are good in support, but less well-rounded.

City Slickers has a few stray heads of cattle, but the herd generally moves confidently in the right direction.

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