Throw Momma from the Train

I have a few hours left of Amazon Prime as I write this. My time with Prime will yet again come to an end; my ruse will no longer operate as intended as Jeff Bezos and friends have discovered I am no longer a student and should ideally pay the full (not worth it) price for Amazon Prime. Bumping the monthly fee from £4 to nearly £10 a month. Now, I don't really order anything. It's quite rare that I buy anything, and I don't really watch many things on Prime Video these days. Nothing to really justify the cost of £10 per month! So, knowing it'll come to an end and not renew, I decided to browse through the library one last time and watch a film this evening on there. Often enough, scrolling through Prime Video is an absolute waste of time, with an incredibly thin and disappointing library to choose from. Prime Video is by far one of the worst streaming platforms around, and maybe I'll even write an individual post on this alone at some point. Most of the time I scroll through Prime Video's terrible UI and give up, not watching anything on there and looking elsewhere. Today, however, I ended up just throwing thumb press on anything that came across my eye, the first thing being a film featuring Danny DeVito and Billy Crystal.

Though it wasn't until the film had finished and the credits started to roll that I discovered it was directed by Danny DeVito as well. And this was due to me looking the film on IMDb to check out the trivia section of a film, as I always do! But having discovered this about the film, I have to say that I'm not really surprised by it at all. It's a very Danny DeVito film, one that is full of fun and silliness, but also that charismatic charm that comes from the things his name is attached to. It is no surprise that DeVito has managed only increase in popularity as the generations go by, with even younger audiences finding appreciation in his works, especially in regards to the It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia seasons. Much like Matilda, this is a film that features DeVito in a lead role, but you don't quite realise that he's actually directing the film until later, too. But the discovery of this fact only increases your enjoyment later on, looking back and noticing even more so the little additions he added and why. DeVito isn't the most artistic of filmmakers, but his films do feature a comedic style that makes them grounded in the sense that they could look like they were shit in any era, with stories that also seem quite grounded, if not still a bit silly.

In the case of Throw Momma from the Train, this is a film with a pretty simple story. One that gives us a pretty regular set of characters that find themselves troubled by the complexities of everyday life. These two characters are struggling writers. One suffering intense writer's block, incapable of getting the first sentence of a novel down over several months of panic; he also teaches a writing class to a series of aspiring writers. Funnily enough, despite his own inability to write. This character is played by Billy Crystal, a character also recently divorced and hating his ex-wife for stealing his novel idea and finding great success in it. Our second character is a student of his, a mother's boy and aspiring writer that just can't seem to catch a break; incapable of getting much depth into his stories and looking after his mother that seems both mean and insanely demanding of her adult son. There is one main thing that keeps these two main characters with something in common: they want someone dead. Their lives are seeming a bit dead end, void of purpose and with similar goals despite their struggles. They both blame others for their failures. These two characters have vastly different backgrounds, but as mentioned: that mutual want comes in with quite a misunderstanding.

Danny DeVito's character mistakes an inspirational conversation for a genuine want and interest in seeing the ex-wife dead. Coming from a writer's perspective on how to go about committing the perfect crime: you have the motive, you remove the motive, and you create an alibi. Though this clearly would not work, he assumes what the conversation implies is that one kills the other, for the other. Inspired by a trip to the cinema and watching an Alfred Hitchcock film to which this very theme plays out. Following his ex-wife around Hawaii, he tries to kill her, failing comedically. Only to see her accidentally fall from a boat and supposedly die. Of course this misunderstanding results in the other character losing his mind and believing she's really dead and that he's now a fugitive. Much of the film is the act of this murder attempting to take place, which makes it quite enjoyable.

Though I found that the weaker half was after this fact, to which the assumption of being a fugitive takes place. I think much of the fun of the film really is that build up of the character complaining to everyone about how much he hates his ex-wife and wishing she was dead, only to discover she might actually be. A lot of the comedy after comes more from DeVito's character and the weird relationship he has with his mother. Often hinting that it's his turn of the bargain. In typical 80s comedic fashion, there's a bit of a climax to the film that jumps the shark a bit. Making things a bit more action packed than what was necessary, having had most of the time be a slower, more comedic experience. I don't think it was necessary, but perhaps then for audiences, and even now, it might be something people expect. But I'm glad a film like this can exist and be stupid while not entirely pursuing slapstick humour and unbelievable characters. The main appeal here is the everyday characters, especially ones that are aspiring creatives and void of direction. Clearly more awkward, anti-social imaginative types. I can't see a film like this working today, it would just be removed of all elements that make it work. Even the scenes in which calls are made from sketchy payphones speak of the era and the desperation of the mind of a creative.

I really did enjoy this film though. It was refreshing, and a comedy film that didn't treat the audience like they themselves are dumb. Humour when it is necessary, and for the most part nothing too farfetched. A fun viewing into evening.