1062. Clue (1985)

Starring: Tim Curry, Eileen Brennan, Madeline Kahn

Director: Jonathan Lynn

Running Time: 97 mins

Clue is an American film based on the board game Cluedo, where a group of strangers are all brought together for a dinner party on one mysterious evening, and have to investigate a murder together.

This is a seriously funny film. If you know the game, it’s a great laugh to see it put on the screen, because this is definitely one of the best board game-to-film adaptations of all. With great gags from start to finish, fun performances and a genuinely unpredictable story, this is a comedy that will keep you engrossed right the way through.

Let’s start with the way that this film adapts the board game. Of course, there are some changes, but the main characters all stay the same, as do the iconic weapons used in the game, so for fans of the board game, this is an absolute delight. However, what’s even better is that the changes are really good here.

Normally, board game movies put into the real world become overly complicated and serious, like the 2012 edition of Battleship, however this introduces fascinating back stories for each of the characters that involve even more intricately political information than you’d ever find in the game, but that just heightens the intrigue even more.

And that’s why this also stands out as a good film. The plot is really exciting and unpredictable. If you’ve played the game, you know very well how mysterious the whole thing can be, and this fits in perfectly with that, with a murder mystery where you really do suspect everyone, and nothing is given away right up until the end, where it’s all revealed in a satisfying (although slightly unorthodox) way.

Finally, the comedy here is fantastic. I was laughing my socks off throughout this film, not just because of the onslaught of slapstick, but also the collection of insane Airplane!-like dialogue and repartee, and the excellent performances, particularly from Tim Curry, who puts in an energetic show as well as doing a great job of satirising his typecast, making for laughs all round.

Overall, then, this gets an 8.0 from me, because of its impressively unpredictable plot, great adaptation from board to screen, and hilarious comedy throughout.