Sure, we've been inundating you with anniversaries and reminders from Back to the Future, reminding you of the silver jubilee of even the most mundane McFly minutia. But there's another Christopher Lloyd 25th anniversary that shouldn't be forgotten, a film that was mostly ignored when first released, but which has blossomed into a comedy classic and a cult favorite. It also happens to be one of my favorite movies of all time, Clue.
Writer/director Jonathan Lynn and co-plotter John Landis smartly decided to appropriate the names and locales of the Clue board game, and use it as a frame to create an incredibly hilarious screwball comedy. Clever word play, groanworthy puns and lots of physical comedy wouldn't normally be associated with a murder-mystery, but as Wadsworth could tell you, the murders were just a red herring, only useful as a joke delivery system.
But for a film that sports a ridiculous Dream Team of comedy legends (Madeline Kahn! Michael McKean! Martin Mull!), Clue was oddly ignored by moviegoers when it was first released on December 13th, 1985. Grossing just shy of $15 million in total, it disappeared quickly in theaters, but found its audience on video and on cable, which is how I first encountered it. I've seen it more times than I can recall, and probably could quote you chapter and verse of the whole thing if given a chance. But why don't you check out the best moments from Clue, along with the original trailer (with the score from Airplane!)below