Ruthless People (1987)
Director: Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, Jerry Zucker
Starring: Bette Midler, Danny DeVito, Judge Reinhold
Synopsis:
A suburban couple kidnap a corrupt businessman's wife, but little do they realize that he would rather see his wife dead.
Impressions:
This movie was part of my family's film canon when I was growing up, so I have a particular attachment to it and it was interesting revisiting it after so many years. This is quite a change of style for Team ZAZ of Airplane! fame. However, even as a more conventional comedy, it's pretty good stuff. A lot of the humor stems from confusion and miscommunication with a black humor bent, much like The Man Who Knew Too Little. This sort of thing is right up my alley and if it's the sort of thing you like too, this movie is for you. Danny DeVito delivers a grand performance as the scumbag Sam Stone and Bette Milder brings a lot of spunk to his fiery wife Barbara. Judge Reinhold and Helen Slater are amusing as the hapless, out-of-their-depth kidnappers and Bill Pullman makes a splash in his film debut as the stupidest person on the face of the earth. This is a fun movie and if you want a good little 80s-era comedy, this is a good choice. It has my recommend it.
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