September marks the beginning of spooky season, my favorite!! If you read here regularly, you know that Lisa from Boondock Ramblings and I have been trading classic movies all summer. Well, we have temporarily changed it up – instead of classic movies, we will be watching movies that are more themed for September and October, and with more of a nostalgic rather than classic feel. We had a great time chatting and making our list – our husbands were even in on it! We are starting out more mild, then working our way up to the creepier, scarier flicks. And for our very first movie, we went with Clue!

I am going to be 100% honest with you all – this is one of my favorite movies of all time and I can recite practically the whole movie. I have loved it since I first watched it at home, on VHS.

If anyone is unfamiliar, this movie is based off the Parker Brothers board game of the same name. All the principal characters are summoned to a party thrown by the mysterious Mr. Body. Who is he? Why is he gathering them all together? They all arrive, some together, most one by one, and are let in by Wadsworth, the butler who is played by Tim Curry. Once everyone has arrived, the “game” begins, and people start dying. But who is the murderer? And why?

I was just introduced to the genre of screwball comedies this summer – or rather, I had watched them before not realizing that is what I was watching. As I sat through Clue this time around, I began to wonder if it is a screwball comedy. My research indicates, that yes, maybe, it is, or definitely contains many characteristics and elements found in a screwball comedy. The fast, witty repartee, the bits of slapstick, social satire, although other elements seem to be missing, mainly the romantic aspect. And this ensemble cast was absolutely brilliant at their portrayal of each of their deeply flawed characters. It is hard to pinpoint the standout performance, when all of them were so quick and funny. I had the feeling that had such a good time making this movie!

One thing I always loved about this movie is the three different possible endings. When it was released into theaters, moviegoers had no idea which ending they were going to end up with, and the film companies released the different versions in different areas even, so if you wanted to see all three you had to do some detective work of your own, although hopefully detective work minus a body count. Luckily, I saw it first on video and all three endings are presented together. I love that I could see them all but it would have been a fun novelty to see it in the original way and know that other people were watching a movie with an entirely different ending.

Although I said that I don’t think there was a standout performance, I guess I do have favorite characters. Wadsworth, of course, because Tim Curry, and Madeline Kahn as Mrs. White. When I was younger I thought she was oh so glamorous and beautiful. And maybe I still think that as an adult too, now that I think about it.

I still love this movie to bits. And I can still quote along with it, although I do so mostly internally so I don’t make other people (Billy) crazy when watching it together.

Next up is The Addams Family, if you feel like watching and posting along. Or just watching along even!

What about you all? Have you seen this? Like it or hate it? Do you have a favorite character?

To read Lisa’s post, check it out here!