Throw Momma from the Train (1987)

good back-story, and good acting

best movie i've ever seen.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

In the best tradition of a twisted Hitchcock, this is a disturbingly funny movie that takes the "Strangers on a Train" concept and stands it right on it's head. I have to say, I get a kick out of Anne Ramsey, but ever since I saw her in 1985's "Goonies", I've always believed that was really a man underneath her characters. Calling her ugly wouldn't be a very nice thing to say, but boy, she sure does make you take a step back.Devito and Crystal play off each other quite well here, this was back in their heyday as comedic actors. All Devito has to do is show up actually, he's just plain funny to look at; the voice and mannerisms are an added bonus. It's been quite a while since I saw this film the first time, so hearing that piercing, guttural "Oweeeen" was a perfect way to get me back in the mood for watching this flick again.Okay, so it's not even in the same league as Professor Donner's (Crystal) literature class, but you can have some fun with this one. There's even a twist ending of sorts when it's revealed that Donner's wife (Kate Mulgrew) isn't really dead. So it's actually a happy ending movie after all if you're a clever enough writer to spin it that way.

A lighter reworking of Alfred Hitchcock's suspense classic, Strangers on a Train, Throw Momma from the Train with Billy Crystal and Danny DeVito is a black comedy that's all fun and entertaining though terribly morbid. It's dauntlessly funny, terrific at making light with dark material and having fun with it, and in doing such, it's a delightful viewing.Billy Crystal is the tops, really, I mean that, the tops playing the going wacky Larry who is a teacher of a small writing class and Danny DeVito is the greatest, really, I mean that, the greatest playing the fully deranged Owen who is a student in Larry's said writing class. Larry hates his ex-wife's guts, Owen wants his momma dead, so both Larry and Owen scheme up a plan, a criss-cross murder plot to take out one another's most despised persons so to make it look like that the crimes were committed by complete strangers, or at least that's what Owen thought.The plot of Throw Momma from the Train unfolds consistently nice and comically. It has a writer's perspective that especially speaks to writers but offers an interesting insight for all audiences. Throw Momma from the Train has a marvelous and creative camera lens, thanks to Danny Devito, really enhancing the showing of the story. Danny Devito did so well in his movie directorial debut. He has real directing talent! I'm just learning this!Despite of its potentially disturbing premise, it's not, and I really love Throw Momma from the Train and it's actually quite nice. In the end, all's well that ends well. The night was humid. The night was sultry. Hahahahaahaa!

This is fun and cerebral, which is more than can be said about most comedies then or now. I don't know who to credit as the main voice behind the film, but it shows a confluence of talent that work with each other well and care to craft something vibrant with some intelligence.I'll have you imagine it as something between Rob Reiner (who produces here) and the Coens. Two writers faced with writer's block may be creating each the other's storyworld. This parallel flow is hammered early in the film with the symmetric shots of writers on their desks, puzzling about a story. Both are faced with an impossible living situation, both are hampered in their creative endeavor by a similar strain. One is a college professor, his block is largely mental, ego- recurring thoughts of his wife. The other is an unrefined simpleton who is still living with his momma, his block is this nasty woman and it manifests physically with slaps and abuse. We begin and end with the more complicated writer finishing up on the book we just 'saw'. A tad simpler and we'd be close to Princess Bride, harmless nested fiction for the pleasure of a world outside the norm. A tad more intricate and it'd be a sibling film of Raising Arizona, a dream complicated in the dreaming, with every cartoonish situation a bit blacker.DeVito's humorous omnipresence is great.

The college teacher Larry Donner (Billy Cristal) is a blocked writer since his former wife Margareth (Kate Mulgrew) ruined him, stealing his novel that became a best-seller. He does not hide his hatred for Margareth, upsetting his girlfriend Beth Ryan (Kim Greist), who is an anthropologist teacher in the same college. While giving classes of Creative Writing, he is stalked by the student Owen (Danny DeVito) that wants to know his opinion about his crime tale. Larry tells that he did not like it, and explains that in every mystery tale, the murderer should eliminate the motive and establish an alibi, otherwise he would get caught. Further, Larry suggests Owen to watch Hitchcock's movies to understand the structure of a suspenseful story. Owen, who wants to kill his detestable mother (Anne Ramsey), watches "Strangers on a Train" and misunderstands Larry's advice, believing that his teacher wants to swap murders to eliminate the motive. Owen travels to Hawaii and while in a ship, Margareth falls overboard vanishing in the sea and is considered dead. However, Larry does not have an alibi and becomes the prime suspect, while the deranged Owen presses him to kill his mother as part of their supposed deal."Throw Momma from the Train" is one of the funniest comedies of the 80's and a great tribute to Alfred Hitchcock. The direct reference is "Strangers on a Train", but there are jokes with "Vertigo" (with the spinning camera), "Family Plot" (with the car without breaks) and other movies. The lines are excellent and there is an interesting point when Larry tells that every great romance or mystery has a train. Anne Ramsey is amazing in the role of a nasty and abusive dominating mother and the viewer will certainly feel sorrow and understand the insanity of Owen. Kim Greist is very beautiful and Kate Mulgrew is the perfect bitch. Billy Cristal performs an obsessed character with many silly and unreasonable attitudes but necessary to the plot. My vote is seven.Title (Brazil): "Jogue a Mamãe do Trem" ("Throw Momma from the Train")