Penn & Teller Get Killed (1989)
The "bad boys of magic" go over the edge in this mind-blowing, role-switching comedy murder mystery set in the dizzying world of Atlantic City casinos. In a TV interview, Penn mentions his idea of a fun practical joke: "I wish someone were trying to kill me. It would give focus to my life, excitement. I'd be like James Bond." Twenty million people hear him. One decides to deliver a punchline he'll never forget. Made by people who thought Psycho was a comedy, Penn & Teller Get Killed (they also wrote the piece) features Caitlin Clarke as the femme fatale and David Patrick Kelly as the Edgar Allan Poe-esque nutcase with a new mission. Arthur Penn, known for hip masterpieces like Bonnie and Clyde, Alice's Restaurant and Little Big Man, directs with roller-coaster pacing and subversive intelligence.
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Overrated and overhyped
It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.
To all those who have watched it: I hope you enjoyed it as much as I do.
An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.
as a previous review already said about this film, if you like Penn and Teller's scthick then you'll love this film. It's bizarre, it's hilarious and most of all its one of the best bits of black comedy that's ever been committed to celluloid. The ending is so jarring you'd thunk you watched an episode of Chris Morris's Jam (an early 00's sketch show that 2 parts psychological horror and 1 part comedy) It's a laugh riot for Penn and Teller fans but for anyone else it might not make much sense. It is a hilarious film for the right mind. and if you want a break from the rest of the mediocre 80's films like mannequin, roadhouse (I do actually like roadhouse) and other such fare then it is a refreshing take in my opinion.
The first five minutes of this film are quite interesting when we see them in the television studio but that is the only half descent thing we see. The rest of the film is so pretentious it is unbelievable.The story is about a set of practical jokes which are not funny and half the time dont make sense and the ending is awful. The female actress turns up in the last half an hour out of nowhere and takes the film down another notch. They should have killed themselves at the beginning! Dont get me wrong i like Pen & Teller and their Bulls*** TV series is fantastic but sorry guys this stinks! 2 out of 10
Very strange...but the film yielded some good gags. It did seem to get a bit dry in some places, though. Still...not a complete waste of time. I gave it a 10, because I would like it to survive the world's transition from vhs to dvd. Perhaps this will help. COME ON EVERYBODY! KEEP STUPID MOVIES ON THE SHELVES!
this movie has some interesting stunts that are pulled, but I kept asking myself during the duration of the film, Is Penn the guy who does the "next on Comedy Central" voice. Otherwise I could dig this movie, jay and silent bob seemed to rip it off a little bit.