RyothChatty ridiculous rating

ThedevilChoose When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

Ketrivie It isn't all that great, actually. Really cheesy and very predicable of how certain scenes are gonna turn play out. However, I guess that's the charm of it all, because I would consider this one of my guilty pleasures.

Grimossfer Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%

Spikeopath Without a Clue is directed by Thom Eberhardt and written by Larry Strawther and Gary Murphy. It stars Michael Caine, Ben Kingsley, Lysette Anthony, Jeffrey Jones, Matthew Sim, Paul Freeman, Pat Keen, Matthew Savage and Nigel Davenport. Music is by Henry Mancini and cinematography by Alan Hume.Sherlock Holmes (Caine) is really a second rate actor hired for incognito purposes by the intelligent crime solver Dr. Watson (Kingsley). Tiring of him getting all the praise, Watson tries to dispense with the oafish Holmes' services. However, a major counterfeit case rears its head and Watson, with a bumbling Holmes in tow, must set aside differences to try and crack the case.The premise is role reversal and it makes for a lovely entertaining movie. Oh the plot itself is hardly ingenious, and the absence of Kingsley's Watson for a good chunk of the last third of the movie is sorely felt, yet the japery and chemistry of Caine and Kingsley see it safely home.Caine as Reginald Kincaid as Sherlock Holmes is a buffoon, a hard drinking pratfaller in waiting, someone who is not beyond peeking through a keyhole to ogle a shapely thigh. And Caine has a ball with the role! On the other side is Kingsley's Watson, continually irritated by his companion in crime solving, he's grumpy and stomps about like a spoilt kid. Kingsley also has a ball.Holmes aficionados will appreciate the characterisation of Inspector Lestrade (Jones), since he's played as clueless, while the Baker Street Irregulars (Savage sprightly), Professor Moriarty (Freeman not in it much and not playing it for laughs really) and Mrs. Hudson (Pat Keen wonderful and really given a character that impacts on the jollification on show) keep the Holmes/Watson world vibrant.Elsewhere Lysette Anthony raises the temperatures with her beauty and sexuality, whilst thankfully getting a character written as more than just an ingénue. Mancini strings together a jaunty and period themed musical score, while the Victorian production design is authentic and pleasing on the eyes. So all in all, one or two quibbles aside, it's good wholesome fun that is well performed and constructed by the makers. 7.5/10

MartinHafer Considering that the Sherlock Holmes character has appeared in more movies than any other, it's not surprising that they would try making several parodies of the famous detective. "Without a Clue" has a very interesting premise--that it's Watson who is the genius and Holmes is just a boob playing in an elaborate ruse. It seems that the Holmes stories that Watson writes for 'The Strand Magazine' really are about him and his detective prowess. There really is no Holmes--just an actor (Michael Caine) that the Doctor (Ben Kingsley) has hired to play the part. The problem is that the actor is a complete imbecile, a womanizer and a drunk and Watson has had enough of this. So Watson has finally decided to expose the truth....but no one seems to care or believe him. Finally, out of desperation, Watson rehires the actor and they embark on a case that takes them on the trail of the dreaded Moriarty.The acting is pretty good here (I especially liked Kingsley) and the story has many clever touches. Unfortunately, the humor is sometimes a bit too broad and they make Holmes such an obvious idiot that I can't believe anyone would be taken in by him. Perhaps a bit more subtlety would have made a better film. Also, the ending just seemed to go on and on and on. Clearly the film could have used a bnit of editing. Still, it's worth seeing--especially if you are tiring of the same old sort of Sherlock Holmes film.

fedor8 WAC, along with "Blame It On Rio" and "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels", is perhaps the best example (though one of many) of why Caine is one of the funniest guys in movies. WAC is stylish and visually nice – in spite of being both a comedy AND having been made in the visually bland late 80s. This makes it unique, in a way. It was made to look very realistic not only because WAC is simply nicer to look at that way, but because a realistic backdrop only increases the effectiveness of the comedy. (The Pythons knew this well, hence the enormous effort they'd put into making "Holy Grail" and "Life of Brian" looking as good as they do.) The script is excellent. Laughs are continual, with the occasional quirky touches that elevate this essentially commercial comedy above the sea of formulaic turds that have been infesting (now more than ever before) the big screen.The only weakness, somewhat predictably, is the grand finale when WAC deteriorates into childishly unfunny slapstick farce. It is unfortunate that most writers and directors feel the need to end comedies with a big action finale, thereby sacrificing the laughs in favour of a couple of explosions or chases.

Michael Neumann That sound you hear is Sir Arthur Conan Doyle spinning in his grave, from mirth more than outrage at the sorry state of his legendary Baker Street detective, depicted here as a bumbling third-rate actor living a role created by the real deductive genius and crime fighter: Dr. John Watson.It's a convenient (if sometimes slightly antagonistic) arrangement, with Watson finding the clues and Holmes getting the credit, and both Michael Caine and Ben Kingsley play the one-joke premise for all its worth, having a lot of fun with their respective characters. Caine is the idiotic, clumsy, lecherous and vain Sherlock Holmes, but Kingsley's Watson is no less temperamental: he has to solve the mysteries and match wits with the fiendish Moriarty while keeping his petulant alter ego under control.The plotting is conventional and Henry Mancini's cartoon music score makes the film sound at times like a mediocre sit-com, but it's a pleasure watching two award-winning talents trample a literary icon with such impeccable comic timing and malicious glee.