Throw Momma from the Train

Owen asked his friend Larry for a small favour
Owen asked his friend Larry for a small favour
THROW MOMMA FROM THE TRAIN (15)
D: Danny DeVito
Orion (Larry Brezner)
US 1987
88 mins

Comedy

W: Stu Silver
DP: Barry Sonnenfeld
Ed: Michael Jablow
Mus: David Newman


Billy Crystal (Larry Donner), Danny DeVito (Owen Lift), Anne Ramsay(Momma), Kim Greist (Beth Ryan), Kate Mulgrew (Margaret Donner)

The title may be a little off-putting, but this black comedy is actually a very good homage to Alfred Hitchcock's Strangers On A Train (qv).
A bitter writing professor, struggling with his new book while his ex-wife reaps the rewards of plagiarising his previous work, is approached by one of his students, a bullied momma's boy who tries to convince him to swap murders.
Billy Crystal and Danny DeVito make a surprisingly good double act, with the former playing the straight man to the latter's sinister incompetent. Though the comedy does have occasional moments of slapstick, its funniest moments are in the darker scenes.
6/10

Throw Momma from the Train
Throw Momma from the Train