MamaGravity good back-story, and good acting

ScoobyMint Disappointment for a huge fan!

Infamousta brilliant actors, brilliant editing

Afouotos Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

reisen55 Most reviews and the summary here list two films - but THE BIG SLEEP also gets a turn-over in this one. So add that fact to your list. I like this one, far better than the previous MURDER BY DEATH which Peter Sellers hated BTW. The HUGE cast is flawless and they play it all straight. Plus as a cinema buff, watch the photography. THE MALTESE FALCON scenes are cut straight, to the point, quickly and sometimes do not match. The CASABLANCA scenes (like the movie) are smooth flowing, the camera moving around the club. This is a film made by people who love old movies. Falk was at home in this role too. Some jokes by Simon are writ-large and others just subtle - such as when Falk just takes a Martini out of his desk drawer (it was there all the time for a rainy day) and gives it to Alma Chalmers, Denise Manderly, NO-CARMEN MONTENEGRO. Not a great comedy but one to curl up with and smile and remember too that there are not waters in CASABLANCA. ("I was misinformed"). Oh, and take the Martini out of the cupboard - chill it and enjoy.

classicsoncall If you enjoy movie parody, this send-up of Bogart classics will be right up your alley. The nods to "Casablanca" and "The Maltese Falcon" are plainly obvious, with more than a passing reference in the latter part of the picture to "The Big Sleep". You could tell the principal players were having a hoot of a time filming this; just watch Louise Fletcher as she caresses Peter Falk's shoulder in that scene where he tells her he has a bottle of champagne he bought for the honeymoon that never was. When he mentions that the bread and cheese got hard as a rock, she starts to crack up before gaining composure again.With the usual gang of idiots like Madeline Kahn and Dom DeLuise on hand, one might think this was a Mel Brooks production, but this one comes courtesy of Neil Simon and director Robert Moore. It's almost impossible to pick out a favorite funny moment because there are so many quips and sight gags it's hard to keep up. Every time Lou Peckinpaugh (Peter Falk) opens a nightstand or desk drawer he's pulling out a ready made drink, doing so with the greatest equanimity. Each of the female leads was a blast and a half, pulling off their impersonations perfectly, with both Eileen Brennan and Ann-Margret sending up Bogey's main squeeze, Lauren Bacall.While it's fun to play the match game with the characters here with those in Bogart's actual films, I guess my favorite would have been Madeline Kahn doing the Mary Astor thing from "The Maltese Falcon" with all the phony aliases. Scatman Crothers is also in fine form as piano player Tinker, reprising the Dooley Wilson role as Sam in "Casablanca". I would never have guessed that 'Jeepers, Creepers' was on Lou's forbidden song list the same way 'As Time Goes By' was for Rick Blaine. Not enough romance in it I guess.A couple years after this film came out, Robert Sacchi did a similar turn in "The Man With Bogart's Face", another parody heavy on the Casablanca and Maltese Falcon references. The one thing he did that Peter Falk didn't even try was Bogey's familiar facial grimace in a tense situation, although by the time that picture was finished he might have overdone it. So if it comes to making a recommendation between the two flicks, I'd have to paraphrase Rick Blaine from "Casablanca" or Marlene DuChard (Louise Fletcher) in this one - "Of all the cheap gin joints and film noir knock-offs in this world, I pick this one".

dougdoepke Hilarious spoof of Bogart's iconic roles. The jibes fly fast and furious, so best to keep a scorecard. I love it when Madelyn Kahn (I think) keeps piling on the aliases one after another in true mystery woman fashion. Frankly, I had trouble telling all the women apart, what with their big hats from the 1940's. Then there're all these great impersonations of iconic characters like Lorre and Greenstreet, only here they're "Damascus" and "Blubber". And get a load of fall-guy Paul Williams slapping himself silly in true Elisha Cook fashion. Okay, I'll probably never be able to watch Casablanca (1942) or The Maltese Falcon (1941) the same way again, but it's probably worth it. Anyway, the spoof's an iconoclastic treat for old movie fans, that is, if you don't mind seeing movie gods lampooned a bit for a good laugh.

cardinalcall Don't bother watching this movie: it's awful. I could have written a funnier screenplay than Neil Simon. Booo. My only regret is that the playwright was not the victim in this detective story.Sid Caesar was not funny; Peter Falk was not funny; Madeline Kahn was not funny; Louise Fletcher was not funny; the who-don-it is the playwright...he murdered this script! Booo.Although I thought "The Odd Couple" and "Max Dugan Returns" were great screenplays written by Simon, I think he wrote a number of not-too-clever and not-too-funny plays despite the casting of some notable actors and actresses.My only puzzlement is: why did these big name actors and actresses agree to do this script? Was it to pay their income taxes? Aren't actors and actresses supposed to have some standards for the quality of the scripts and the materials? As Alfred, the Macy janitor in "Miracle on 34th Street" said: 'Yeah, there's a lot of bad 'isms' floatin' around this world, but one of the worst is commercialism. Make a buck, make a buck. Even in Brooklyn it's the same ... just make a buck, make a buck.' Well, Alfred, even in Hollywood it appears to be the same - don't care what cinema and art stands for, just make a buck, make a buck.