Monday, June 17, 2019

Review: Murder Mystery



As a big fan of the "Thin Man" films, I always thought it was a lost opportunity that they never sent Nick and Nora Charles to Europe. The first film was set in New York, the second in San Francisco, the third ... back to New York.

Noooo.

The third film was the chance to make "The Thin Man in London," or "The Thin Man in Paris." These would have been a much-needed boost to a film series whose producers thought giving them a baby was the boost they needed.

Adam Sandler is a police officer who takes wife Jennifer Aniston to Europe on a long-promised honeymoon. The blue collar couple get invited on a yacht where we meet some eccentric soon-to-be murder suspects as well as the nasty soon-to-be murder victim. This has all the elements of a Thin Man film (and a bunch of Agatha Christie mysteries), and though Adam Sandler plays a rough-around-the-edges police detective, Jennifer Aniston does a good job filling in for Myrna Loy. It's been years since "Friends," and I've forgotten how she can make any line very funny.

The pair eventually get framed for the murder (don't think about it too hard) and while on the run comically bicker as they try to find the real killer.  It's light and breezy and as a screwball comedy is just as good as any from the 1940s.

We get the added bonus of location shooting in Monaco and Lake Como and it's all very Hollywood.

Its only false notes happen in the beginning when Sandler schemes to keep his wife from finding out he didn't get a promotion. This is a plot you'd see on "The Honeymooners" and hasn't aged well. The other misfire is the totally gratuitous chase scene tacked on the end.

We may never see the "Thin Man" reboot I've been hoping for, but until then, this is very close.

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