Throw Momma from the Train

source: Throw Momma from the Train

Trailer—Throw Momma from the Train

Throw Momma from the Train

Larry Donner (Billy Crystal) is an author suffering from writer's block. He hates his ex-wife Margaret (Kate Mulgrew) who stole his book, and published the best seller as her own. Owen Lift (Danny DeVito) is one of Larry's clueless writing students. He hates his hateful mother (Anne Ramsey). Owen keeps stalking Larry about his writing about murder. When Larry suggests Owen watch Alfred Hitchcock's 'Strangers on a Train', Owen assumes that Larry is saying that he will kill Owen's mother if Owen kills Larry's ex-wife. Then Owen goes to Hawaii to kill Margaret. The problem is that Larry has no alibi, the cops are on his case, and Owen expects Larry to kill his mother. This is a great dark comedy. Danny DeVito is terrific as the idiot. Billy Crystal is neurotic and angry. They have great chemistry together. Anne Ramsey is the best ugly bully. It's Danny DeVito's big screen directorial debut. He does a good job letting the actors room to work. It is well worth a watch.

Throw Momma from the Train is an interesting experiment. After all, not many people have tried to remake an Alfred Hitchcock film as a comedy. But any suspense this movie may have had is undercut by the comedic tone. Anne Ramsey is the highlight of the film, while Billy Crystal and Danny DeVito both seem to be coasting. This movie never quite gets off the ground.

It's been 32 years since I saw this at its original release. At the time, I half-liked it but remember being kind of disappointed overall. Recently, on Amazon Prime, I gave it another look. In spite of some positive reviews, I have to say it wasn't any better on second viewing. The 2 leads are talented comic actors, Anne Ramsey was a gem---in her unique way---and there are a few good spots in between the duds. But overall, the script has a lot of weak dialogue and is often more stupid than funny. This is the kind of thing you can watch with one eye, while doing something else--you can get some laughs from the Crystal-DeVito-Ramsey slapstick while you're ironing or making out monthly bills.

Throw Momma From The Train is a good black comedy from Danny DeVito... Billy Crystal is great as Larry, a frustrated writer who wishes his ex-wife were dead. Danny DeVito plays against type as Owen, a childlike psychotic who allows his monster of a mother to run his life. Wouldn't life be simpler is these two could murder the women that make them miserable? The first two-thirds of the movie are funny, especially the scenes involving Larry's writing class. But somewhere along the way it becomes a frantic nightmare, with Larry fighting for his sanity while a "kooky" musical score blares incessantly on the soundtrack. And the inconsistencies of Owen's character are more than a little distracting. In the end, though, "Throw Momma From The Train" is an entertaining, original movie with some very funny scenes. It is worth checking out if you can rent it or see it on cable. GRADE: B-

I recently stumbled across this film again after many years while channel surfing and soon I found myself laughing to beat the band.I had seen it years earlier when it was new.I'm not sure why I steered clear of it in subsequent years.Maybe it's under-rooted disturbing theme of murder.At any rate,I found myself engrossed in this film.Despite being dark around the edges,it really is an entertaining film.Billy Crystal was still in his prime,as was DeVito,and Anne Ramsey was a delight as "Momma"..Now that I have revisited this comedy gem that I had apparently forgotten,I will be looking to put it on the DVD shelf in the near future.

Spoilers herein. Once again we have a film about writing. That's the first recourse for writers, and since Devito is a film writer, the book derives from a Hitchcock film. The mix is rather clever, but the humor is ordinary. What's different here is the mix. As with many book-films, the story on the screen becomes the story in the book, but here we have two books of the same events. One book is serious, the other -- Devito's -- simply comic. The serious book matches up with the Hitchcock film. This film is Devito's book. A simple popup -- how better to describe the humor of Crystal and Ramsey -- with a happy ending.

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+