THROW MOMMA FROM THE TRAIN. Directed by Danny DeVito; written by Stu Silver; produced by Larry Brezner for Orion. Starring Billy Crystal, Danny DeVito and Anne Ramsey. Rated PG-13 (language, a few sexual references).
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How black can humor get before it stops being funny? What subjects, if any, should just never be made sport of?
Writer's block? Divorce? Murder? Alfred Hitchock? All of these and more come in for their share of potshots in Throw Momma from the Train, so your answers to my questions will determine if you'd like this movie.
To be sure, the movie's satire is almost always right on target— skillfully handled and nicely paced. In other words it's a very successful comedy—if you don't have trouble laughing at its subject matter.
Larry (Crystal) teaches creative writing but is having trouble being creative himself. He's been stuck on the first line of a novel for months trying to find an adjective to finish the sentence "The night was..." (finally, when the movie's almost over, he has the brilliant idea of using a different opening).
One of Larry's students is the gnomish, childlike Owen (DeVito) who pesters his professor constantly for advice on his amateurish writing. He ends up getting a different kind of inspiration from him altogether when Larry, trying to explain how a murder mystery should be structured, recommends that Owen watch some Hitchcock movies.
The movie he happens to choose is Strangers on a Train, where two men who meet by chance agree that each will kill off a person hateful to the other one. This arrangement, they figure, will eliminate the motives for the crimes and thus allow each of them to avoid being suspected.
Since Larry hates his ex-wife and has announced for anyone to hear that he would like to see her dead; and since Owen hates his domineering mother and has fantasized killing her several times already—what could be more logical than to borrow Hitchcock's idea and apply it here?
The trouble is that neither Owen nor Larry are cold-blooded killers. Larry is very angry with his ex-wife (played to obnoxious perfection by Kate Mulgrew) for stealing one of his novels and making it into a best seller. And Owen certainly resents his mother.
But while the title of this movie indicates that it will make light of the idea of murder it actually spends almost half its time showing us how difficult it is for decent people, even when motivated, to hurt others.
Now if any Momma has ever inspired murderous thoughts in an offspring it would be this one. Ramsey plays her as broadly as a cartoon with a nagging voice that you will not be able to believe, a nasty cane for swinging at dawdling sons and an even nastier temperament. Although she's not in many scenes she steals the ones she has.
DeVito plays Owen with an intriguing mix of resentment, innocence, and craftiness. The character isn't as hilariously funny as some of his earlier portrayals but it's a little more human and, surprisingly, sympathetic.
Larry is such a loser for most of the movie and feels so sorry for himself that it's hard for us to work up much feeling for him. When the police question one of his students the man cannot believe that Larry would kill his wife, because "He's never done anything."
Crystal has a few good lines and his reluctant but unmistakeable feelings for Owen redeem his character somewhat. But for the most part Throw Momma from the Train is funniest and best when Owen and Momma are onscreen.
The very best thing about this movie though is its respectful satire of Hitchcockian films. There are countless examples of scenes which come within inches of mayhem or murder only to be stopped short by something unexpected.
The whole idea of Larry as the innocent man being trapped by circumstances into almost certain arrest for his wife's murder is the very essence of some of Hitchcock's most famous plots. The brooding mood music and the frequent use of unusual camera ankles are also reminiscent of some famous scenes.
If you're a fan of Hitchcock (and so by definition you like black humor anyway) then you've probably already seen Throw Momma from the Train. If you haven't I strongly recommend that you do so.
January 27, 1988