FILMS… Throw Momma from the Train (1987)

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As a character goes off the rails in spectacular style, it leads to a killer of a comedy bromance…

 

Danny DeVito channels his inner Hitchcock in this darkly comic adaptation with two strangers – and one of their mothers – on a train.

 

Larry and his girlfriend

Owen and his mother

Throw Momma from the Train Official Trailer #1 – Danny DeVito Movie (1987) HD, Rotten Tomatoes Classic Trailers and photos © orion pictures

 

The director Alfred Hitchcock created two thriller masterpieces set on trains, namely The Lady Vanishes (1938) and Strangers on a Train (1951). These two chilling stories directly or indirectly may have led to some of the most unforgettable train scenes in 1970s movies. Be it the heartwarming moments of The Railway Children (1970), the murderous intentions in Murder on the Orient Express (2974) or the acrobatic talents of a cast member of The Cassandra Crossing (1976) with that handstand from Martin Sheen.

These two Alfred Hitchcock movies were remade much, much later in two comic film homages,  I’ve already written about the one with the same name, The Lady Vanishes (1979)… and now it’s the turn for the other one. Strangers on a Train (1951) was revamped, rewritten and updated by Stu Silver in the black comedy, Throw Momma from the Train (1987). This movie was directed by actor, Danny DeVito in his directing debut as a director and he also takes a prominent role.

DeVito’s leading man role is shared by comic actor Billy Crystal, in the years between his cameo in This Is Spinal Tap (1984) and his leading romantic man in When Harry Met Sally… (1989). There is also a small role for the director of both those films, with Rob Reiner in a wee role. 1985’s The Goonies‘ baddies’ matriarch Anne Ramsey is the titular momma in her Oscar-nominated role for Best Supporting Actress.

Throughout the opening film credits, we watch Larry Donner (Billy Crystal) as a man in torment, he’s desperately seeking inspiration, in a scene most writers will identify with. He’s a novelist and is struggling with the first line of his book… He’s also an angry man after his ex-wife, Margaret (Kate Mulgrew) stole the credit for his last manuscript. To make things worse, it’s now a best seller and Larry has to endure her bleating about its success, and banging on about his alleged “monster” side on the telly in chat shows.

Meanwhile, somewhere in the same town, Owen Lift (Danny DeVito) is also trying to write. His more fertile imagination is taken over by creative ways of killing his nag of a mother (Anne Ramsey). An only child, Owen attends Larry’s creative writing course at college, his only respite from this overbearing woman, as his father has passed away before the plot begins.

One night, after seeing Hitchcock’s Strangers on a Train at the cinema, this little man has a big idea… as he watches two characters swap murders on screen. After hearing Larry rant about how he wants his ex-wife dead one day at college, Owen offers Larry a deal. Owen calmly suggests to Larry that he will murder his ex-wife, on the condition that Larry kills his mother… and thus each of them will have the perfect alibi.

After stalking Larry and later Larry and his girlfriend Beth, this creepy little man tells him his evil plan. Then after believing his idea has been greenlit, Owen follows Margaret to Hawaii, to carry out his side of this deadly pact. During this trip after an unsuccessful attempt at killing her, Owen joins her on a cruise as a fellow passenger. During this boat trip, Margaret disappears… and Owen tells Larry he has done the deed.

As the news of Margaret’s disappearance reaches the newspaper’s headlines and the national news, Larry gets superparanoid that he will be framed for her murder. So he does the less obvious thing and moves in with Owen..  where Owen encourages him to keep to his end of their deal…

This film is a fun spin on Hitchcock’s movie with the perfect blend of black comedy and suspense and that’s just the much later train scenes. There is a warm remembrance and nod to Hitchcock’s original film scene, as there is a clip of the original film, showing where the two characters swap murders. In this scene, we watch as Owen forms the solution to his problem. This moment is chilling and comedic, and DeVito’s small presence but big smile in the movie theatre is darkly comic and macabre.

As a director, DeVito often films scenes from his height which adds volumes to his storytelling. His scenes after he travels to Hawaii are often filmed at his eye level as you see things from his small character’s point of view. His increasingly inventive ways of killing her are seen in scenes showing this man has a childishly evil side. These two attributes are used to great effect as she frightens his mother with a trumpet and in another scene where we see his point of view as he moves towards Margaret as she looks over the side of the boat.

DeVito and Ramsey as a son and his mother are also seen quite a sweet rapport deep down, despite her often physically and mentally abusive behaviours. Anne Ramsey is a delight as she gurns, grimaces and nags her son in scenes that set her up as a controlling mother. However, you do feel sympathy for her as a character. Roger Ebert delightfully hits the nail on the head as he describes this matriarch HERE as

a cross between a bag lady and a boxing instructor… she is a true monster: a shambling wreck of a woman who talks as if her mouth is full of marbles and bitterly castigates her son for minor infractions…

In contrast to this matriarch performance, her multi-layered character is seen in a different light after she identifies Larry as the murderer she saw on the television news. Ramsey makes you empathise with this woman’s plight as she believes her house guest is a murderer.

As Larry, Billy Crystal is a joy to watch, as you slowly watch this man suddenly lose control of his life after Owen sneaks into it in the worst possible way. Crystal is credible as he juggles the roles of this now paranoid man who believes his ex-wife was murdered and that the police are looking for him as the prime suspect. To complicate this situation, he believes he still has to keep his end of his pact with this devilish Owen, who still wants his mother dead.

Crystal and DeVito have a fantastic on-screen camaraderie. This is seen in delightfully sweet scenes as well as the more sinister ones. DeVito shows his character, as not just an evil conspirator in a touching scene where he shows Larry his money collection. These small but important coins each come with a memory of his father. The film however is seen at its most slapstick in the famous frying (dead)pan conversation, as Mrs Lift tells Owen that Larry isn’t his cousin, and Owen unsuccessfully tries to fob her off with a story regarding Larry’s identity.

Ebert illuminates more about the mechanics of this bromance, both on and off the screen with his take on Larry and Owen and the actors’ relationship,

Most of the movie centers on the relationship between DeVito and Crystal, who are complete opposites – the genial, smiling, round little man, and the distracted intellectual. DeVito is the kind of man who (in one of the movie’s best moments) can calmly discuss murder and then interrupt himself to exclaim, “Look! Cows!” as they pass a billboard advertising a dairy.

The train scenes which follow encompass heartwarming, murderous and acrobatic moments in these pivotal scenes. It’s even more impressive when you learn Anne Ramsey did her own stunts in these suspense filled scenes. You might just recall, that DeVito later added these three elements to another of his starring and directing movie gems. This was in his non-historical comedy with two of his former co-stars he’d starred with once before in a gem of a movie plot. But as for the former film, you’ll be coming up Roses, if you’ve followed my train of thought…

 

Weeper Rating:  😦 😦  😦 😦 /10

Handsqueeze Rating: 🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂 /10

Hulk Rating:  ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎‎ ‎   ‎‎ ‎/10