Throw Momma from the TrainThey say there's nothing new under the sun--even the perfect murder. Throw Momma from the Train is a comedy about two amateur writers--Larry Donner (Billy Crystal) and Owen Lift (Danny DeVito)--with women in their lives they would prefer to do without. In the case of Larry--who scrapes by through teaching a creative writing class--it is his successful ex-wife, Margaret Donner (Kate Mulgrew). Larry accuses Margaret of having plagiarized his book and (unwisely) publicly declares that he wishes she were dead. For his persistent pupil, Owen, it his his mother--credited as "Momma Lift" (Anne Ramsey)--who browbeats and berates him at every turn. When Margaret goes missing and is presumed dead, and then Owen calls Larry telling him he killed her, Owen ropes Larry into a conspiracy of swapping murders that is as half-baked as his own writing.
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The basic plot of Throw Momma from the Train is intentionally derivative, with Owen concluding that the secret to a perfect murder comes from eliminating the motive, after watching Alfred Hitchcock's Strangers on a Train. In another movie, this would smack of plagiarism, but in Throw Momma from the Train, it is a crucial detail to understanding both Owen and Larry. It's obvious that both men are not adept at the art of fiction; Owen's own writing is as absurd as his peers in class, but equally important is that it's Larry's class, and Larry does little to offer any genuine education or criticism to his students. Larry is a vain and conceited man; he comments that he graduated from Yale, but as his former agent observes, he hasn't produced anything in seven years, claiming that he is unwilling to "compromise his artistic integrity". And the truth of it is that we just have Larry's word to go on when he declares, again and again, that she "stole his book". Did she really? The opening montage depicts Larry struggling to write even the first sentence of a book, constantly stymied at "the night was...", and being unable to choose the "perfect" word. (Get the man a thesaurus.) Larry spends this time fooling around with tape, making tea, doctoring the tea with liquor...basically everything and anything but writing. Larry espouses the mantra to his diverse collection of students that "a writer writes, always", implying that if you love what you do, you'll do it. And here's the problem with Larry, who is more fixated on his resentment and hatred toward Margaret than anything else in the world. His teaching is lackluster, and after catching his prideful ex-wife on "Oprah", he allows her caustic jabs at his expense to consume him, making him neglect Beth (Kim Griest), with whom he's on the verge of having a real relationship. Larry claims to have "writer's block", but this is just an excuse. Larry is such an obsessive control freak, that he spontaneously cancels his class when he finds the elusive word to best describe "the night" in his ostensible story.
It's true that Owen isn't cut out for writing a murder mystery, and his efforts at doing so are judged harshly by Larry, who ultimately breaks down and decides to offer Owen creative advice--something a teacher should be doing all along. Owen sees how mad Larry was about his wife, and Larry even uses this as an example to describe how he would "like" to kill his wife. Larry uses this personal experience to direct Owen in his quest to become a better writer, claiming how the motive is really the tricky part of a good murder mystery. It's a good writing strategy--to write about what you know--and they have a kind of heart-to-heart as Larry suggests that Owen explores his own feelings about wanting to kill his mother in order to draw from that creative wellspring. Larry even suggests that Owen to go see a "Hitchcock" movie; but Owen misinterprets this and believes that Larry is really offering him a cryptic code, a "nudge nudge, wink wink" kind of understood contract between them, one which sets him on the bumbling path to murder Margaret. You have to wonder, though, since Larry is so keen on pointing out the motive being the factor, if he didn't unconsciously leave this trail of bread crumbs for Owen because he wants to see Margaret dead, or if he is--as Beth implies--still in love with her in part. Larry is so neurotic that he ends up "protesting too much" about his involvement, because he believes he is somehow to blame since he desired Margaret's death. When Owen tells him the deed is done, he scrambles to establish an alibi so he can avoid incarceration. But his efforts are ridiculously messy because of the guilt he feels for wishing it in the first place, which in turn makes him paradoxically want to appear guilty. (How very Hitchcock.)
What makes Throw Momma from the Train endearing is how it takes the sinister concept of "swapping murders" and turns it into a slapstick comedy. The divergent personalities of Owen and Larry create an "odd couple" paradigm; Owen acts like a big, dopey kid, dreaming absurd fantasies he never fulfills of offing his momma, which play out like a Looney Tunes cartoon. While Billy Crystal and Danny DeVito (who also directs) have a great comedic chemistry together, it is Anne Ramsey who steals every scene. She is a tyrannical despot, looming over Owen, uttering barely coherent outbursts, claiming someone is always trying to kill her, while oblivious to the actual threat on her life. She maintains a tightly fixated sneer above her pendulous jowls, hobbling about in her pink bathrobe, waiving her walking stick around like a saber, and letting loose with periodic tirades of profanity. Momma Lift is made to be so unlikable as to make it almost impossible not to sympathize with her son looking to commit matricide. In a way, Momma Lift has more in common with Norman Bates' mom (of Psycho), save that she's not only alive, but as Larry observes, virtually unkillable. The last half of Throw Momma from the Train focuses on the looming "bargain" between Larry and Owen, and whether they will "off" Momma Lift. The dynamic between the three of them--Momma, and Owen, and Owen's friend, Larry--is the strongest part of the film, full of uproarious comedy--a real upending of the traditional suspense genre.
Recommended for: Fans of a comedic twist on Alfred Hitchcock's suspense film, Strangers on a Train, with a dynamic pairing of two of comedy's most talented performers. Throw Momma from the Train is a fun, silly adventure that also has a message about how obsessing too much on something can take all the flavor out of the rest of your life.
It's true that Owen isn't cut out for writing a murder mystery, and his efforts at doing so are judged harshly by Larry, who ultimately breaks down and decides to offer Owen creative advice--something a teacher should be doing all along. Owen sees how mad Larry was about his wife, and Larry even uses this as an example to describe how he would "like" to kill his wife. Larry uses this personal experience to direct Owen in his quest to become a better writer, claiming how the motive is really the tricky part of a good murder mystery. It's a good writing strategy--to write about what you know--and they have a kind of heart-to-heart as Larry suggests that Owen explores his own feelings about wanting to kill his mother in order to draw from that creative wellspring. Larry even suggests that Owen to go see a "Hitchcock" movie; but Owen misinterprets this and believes that Larry is really offering him a cryptic code, a "nudge nudge, wink wink" kind of understood contract between them, one which sets him on the bumbling path to murder Margaret. You have to wonder, though, since Larry is so keen on pointing out the motive being the factor, if he didn't unconsciously leave this trail of bread crumbs for Owen because he wants to see Margaret dead, or if he is--as Beth implies--still in love with her in part. Larry is so neurotic that he ends up "protesting too much" about his involvement, because he believes he is somehow to blame since he desired Margaret's death. When Owen tells him the deed is done, he scrambles to establish an alibi so he can avoid incarceration. But his efforts are ridiculously messy because of the guilt he feels for wishing it in the first place, which in turn makes him paradoxically want to appear guilty. (How very Hitchcock.)
What makes Throw Momma from the Train endearing is how it takes the sinister concept of "swapping murders" and turns it into a slapstick comedy. The divergent personalities of Owen and Larry create an "odd couple" paradigm; Owen acts like a big, dopey kid, dreaming absurd fantasies he never fulfills of offing his momma, which play out like a Looney Tunes cartoon. While Billy Crystal and Danny DeVito (who also directs) have a great comedic chemistry together, it is Anne Ramsey who steals every scene. She is a tyrannical despot, looming over Owen, uttering barely coherent outbursts, claiming someone is always trying to kill her, while oblivious to the actual threat on her life. She maintains a tightly fixated sneer above her pendulous jowls, hobbling about in her pink bathrobe, waiving her walking stick around like a saber, and letting loose with periodic tirades of profanity. Momma Lift is made to be so unlikable as to make it almost impossible not to sympathize with her son looking to commit matricide. In a way, Momma Lift has more in common with Norman Bates' mom (of Psycho), save that she's not only alive, but as Larry observes, virtually unkillable. The last half of Throw Momma from the Train focuses on the looming "bargain" between Larry and Owen, and whether they will "off" Momma Lift. The dynamic between the three of them--Momma, and Owen, and Owen's friend, Larry--is the strongest part of the film, full of uproarious comedy--a real upending of the traditional suspense genre.
Recommended for: Fans of a comedic twist on Alfred Hitchcock's suspense film, Strangers on a Train, with a dynamic pairing of two of comedy's most talented performers. Throw Momma from the Train is a fun, silly adventure that also has a message about how obsessing too much on something can take all the flavor out of the rest of your life.