Ruthless People (1986): A Movie Review

Q: How do most bawdy, mainstream comedies create humor today? A: By spoofing and referencing other movies to death. I swear to God, if I see another spoof of the "floating in the air fighting" from "The Matrix", I'm going to go to Hollywood and let loose some whoop-ass. The fact is, spoofing other movies is a tricky practice, and it takes a talented director to do it well. Or three talented directors. The Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker directorial team created some of the best spoofs in film history in 1980 (with "Airplane!") and 1984 (with "Top Secret!"). But their follow-up in 1986 was different from their spoofs, which might have been why it was less popular. A shame; "Ruthless People" a very story- and character-based movie that still managed to be absolutely hilarious.

Fact is, when I tell people that "Ruthless People" is one of my favorite movies, they usually have no clue what I'm talking about. If they have seen the movie, they give me a strange look. But in my opinion, this is one of the most successful comedies ever made. How many other movies have been able to take such well-defined characters, throw them into a great story with plenty of twists and turns, and still manage to be so damn funny?

Crude, heartless businessman Sam Stone (Danny DeVito) yearns to kill his nagging wife Barbara (Bette Midler) so that he can marry his mistress Carol (Anita Morris) instead - but Carol is secretly cheating on Sam with the idiotic Earl Mott (Bill Pullman). When Sam arrives home one day, he sees that she has been kidnapped by Ken (Judge Reinhold) and Sandy Kessler (Helen Slater), who have been screwed over by Sam in the past. But the ransom doesn't exactly go according to plan...

What's striking about the movie is its distinct characters. Their idiosyncrasies are what make the movie hilarious, and the characters are also very well-developed. When I saw the movie the first time, I was puzzled by the inclusion of two seemingly random scenes of Judge Reinhold selling stereo equipment. But soon I realized that the scenes characterize Reinhold so well - he is an honest man who has no business with kidnapping. It sets up his great line: "I can't even sell retail! And that's legal!" Ironically, though the movie may be about ruthless people, these kidnappers are the least ruthless of the bunch.

The other people in the movie are also well-characterized. When DeVito pops open the champagne upon finding his wife kidnapped, and then later appears before the police teary-eyed, you can't help but laugh at how much you love to hate the guy. Great work by DeVito, who is perfectly cast. Bette Midler is also great in her role as DeVito's shrewish wife who is obsessed with clothing and exercise. Then of course, there is the ridiculously incompetent Bill Pullman in a hilarious role.

Dale Launer is a very competent but relatively unknown screenwriter who was great at writing comedies that also had great plots and plot twists. He also wrote the hilarious "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels", the heralded "My Cousin Vinny", and a guilty pleasure for me, "Love Potion #9", a mystical romantic-comedy. (Avoid his "Blind Date", which kinda sucks). In "Ruthless People", though, he was at his peak. The script takes its characters through a realistic story without ever sacrificing character for humor, and still manages to be uproarious. I won't give away the many surprises this movie offers; just know that the deception and conflict compound until we reach the delightful climax. Also, the movie is absolutely hysterical and contains many great scenes and lines, but I won't spoil any here beyond the few I've already mentioned. You just have to see this movie for yourself.

Is "Ruthless People" trying to say something? Well, maybe; is "Bringing Up Baby" trying to say something? Again, maybe. The film's main purpose is to take us on a journey through the story, to entertain, to make us laugh, but there's some subtext in "Ruthless People" if you dig around enough. Towards the bottom of this list, there's a discussion about whether "Reservoir Dogs" is a moral film. In the sense that the characters we like win out, you could call "Ruthless People" a moral film as well. But really, there aren't any "good" characters in this dark comedy; it's about, well, ruthless people. The film's main intention, of course, is just to provide an engaging, hilarious tale.

If you couldn't tell by now, I highly recommend the movie if you haven't seen it (and you probably haven't). Agree or disagree with me, I'm just happy that it's getting seen. Feel free to post comments, be they concordant or dissenting, here if you like.