Touches You

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

Great movie! If you want to be entertained and have a few good laughs, see this movie. The music is also very good,

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Throw Momma From The Train is a 1987 classic. Owen and Larry couldn't be any more different. One is short, the other is tall. The only thing they share in common are two main things: they both love to write, and they both long for someone in their life to be rubbed out. When Larry becomes increasingly irate when his wife cashes in on the same idea Larry had for a book, he declares in front of a good handful of people that he hates her, and that he wishes she was dead. Owen does not overlook this, as he has someone in his life that he wishes was dead, also...his own mother. A cranky old lady, she is bitter as hell, and Owen just seems to be fed up with her mouth. Several attempts at killing her at his own leisure prove a failure, as each attempt is botched by Owen himself ( he tries to poison her drink, but knocks it out of her hands before she can drink it.) Since he can't bring himself to murder his own mother, he gets the idea to "switch" the kills after he watches the film "Strangers On The Train". He murders Larrys wife, in exchange he wants Larry to kill Owens mom. Larry refuses to do this, however, with moms mouth, can she do or say anything that will drive Larry mad enough to perform the task? Meanwhile, Larry is a suspect in the murder of his wife, since he had motive, but the police can't see through the smoking mirrors of what's really going on here. Owens mom thinks Larry is a murderer, and isn't afraid to shoot her mouth off about it, either. The climax of the film drives Larry off the rails of the train itself, and when he's finally ready to "kill the bitch", it suddenly dawns on Owen that maybe he doesn't want her dead, after all. Throw Momma From The Train is an earlier attempt from director Danny DeVito, and it's really not bad, if you like your dark comedies. It has funny moments ( the frying pan scene I think is the best scene out of the whole movie.), but overall, it can be dark and disturbing, and can be unsettling for some to watch. The thought of one committing matricide can be overwhelming for many, but the film manages to pull it off in a cool manner, nothing is graphic about it at all. Billy Crystal played the part of Larry very well, and Anne Ramsey plays the familiar role as Owens mom. 7 out of 10 stars from me, I recommend it for all the dark comedy lovers in us.

I give this movie a 5/10. I have incredibly mixed reviews on this. So this movie is a comedy. It's not funny in the slightest. I laughed exactly once. I felt that this movie contained cliché after cliché. Maybe in 1987 some of these movie elements weren't so cliché. I would list them but I want to keep the review spoiler-free. I also thought the ending was incredibly stupid and predictable. The supposed "twist" about Margaret's fate was as obvious as all get out. That being said, although I didn't laugh, I did get very engrossed in this story. It left me wondering, was Billy Crystal actually going to do it? I found the crisscross idea very clever. This movie had potential, but it just wasn't the gem it could've been, in my opinion.The word that came to mind after the movie ended was Meh. Not something I'd actively seek out to watch again, but it was semi- enjoyable nonetheless.5/10 for mixed opinions.

A deliciously nasty black comedy about a middle-aged schlub (Danny DeVito) who wants to bump off his mother and hatches a plan to do so with a bitter divorcée, who wants to bump off HIS ex-wife. The movie is completely unapologetic in its cynicism, and gives us no one to like, but for once that works in the movie's favor rather than as a turn off.Anne Ramsey, as DeVito's battle axe mom, steals the show in a grotesquely funny performance. Even though she's a horror, you end up rooting for her, because it seems like she could kick both DeVito's and Crystal's asses at the same time with both hands tied behind her back.Grade: B+

Black comedy isn't always an easy sell. Every now and then you get a black comedy that is hugely successful, like Fargo, for example. But usually they don't often find big audiences. People seem to either set their minds for intellectual comedy, or for serious mayhem. There doesn't seem to be a big market for a good mixture of both. Throw Momma From the Train was a fairly decent hit, yet few people seem to remember much about it in this day and age. Danny DeVito just about hit this one all the way out of the park back in 1987.DeVito plays an odd mamma's boy named Owen looking to rid himself of his outrageously overbearing and unpleasant mother whom he still lives with. The mother is played by Anne Ramsey, who passed away shortly after this was released, and she is quite a caricature. She is loud, ugly, rude, and overbearing. Though Owen hardly seems like he could take care of himself, he wants desperately to have his mother offed. He fantasizes about it in some truly weird scenes, but he clearly doesn't have the guts to actually do it himself. That's where Billy Crystal comes in. Crystal plays Larry Donner, Owen's creative writing teacher at a nearby community college. Larry is a paranoid would-be intellectual novelist who claims his ex-wife stole his novel and made millions off it. He is currently trying to write a new one, but cannot even come up with a decent first sentence. "The night was...." Owen hears Larry wish his ex-wife were dead during an outburst at the school cafeteria. And borrowing the idea from Strangers on a Train, Owen decides to travel to Hawai'i and murder Larry's ex-wife. Once it appears he has done so, he expects Larry to return the favor and kill his mother. The resulting action is often quite funny, and even poignant. It's certainly never dull and often full of surprises.The acting is exceptional, even if Ramsey was a bit over the top. Crystal is as good as he can be, and DeVito has always been undervalued as a performer. The film relies on quite a bit of physical comedy which usually works, often painfully so. The film makes use of some truly innovative editing techniques in some scenes, and the off-beat tone is truly refreshing. I have often been critical of the late 1980s as being a time of artistic malaise and down right lazy film-making. Throw Momma From the Train takes chances. Both in how its characters are drawn as well as its general plot. How many comedies revolve around a son having his mother murdered? The film isn't too long, and it is chock full of laughs. Writers are apt to find it more interesting than the general public, but it can still be enjoyed by just about anyone. 9 of 10 stars.The Hound.