The Cheap Detective

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Kevin F @RT53835293 Feb 18 Fabulous cast takes easy potshots at the detective genre, with entertaining results. It doesn’t take itself seriously, and neither should you. Just let some great comedians work. See more John B @Randalltex Oct 15 You don't have to be familiar with Casablanca or The Maltese Falcon to appreciate the humor but it helps. Writer Neil Simon has thoroughly spoofed both classics. See more ed m @RT80499164 Sep 2 First ten minutes are hilarious, then it goes downhill. Really tedious. See more Blu B @RT43513976 05/12/2025 Half the time it is a spoof of the golden era Noir films but the other half it's more a spoof of Casablanca. Problem is while Casablanca shares Noir elements it's much more a complex love story than a murder mystery noir. So i really doesnt mesh well at all. Overall though everything is still alright I'd say. This does a great job nailing the asetics, great camerawork, and mood of a lot of those movies even in color. Humor wise it does get a few laughs every now and than and for the most part it's a mix of smart/clever stuff and some stupid dumb humor. It's a pretty good balance. It reminds me a bit of ZAZ humor. Problem is its just not consistent. For every laugh there's 1-2 jokes that just don't work and are flat. None of it is terrible but it's almost too smart for it's own good. Another issue is scenes really drag in this a lot also because the plot is really complex and the jokes drag out these long scenes quite a bit. It's weird it's like it's super serious but than goes to flat/inconsistent humor and it just makes things boring but also funny sometimes and its kind of weird. It's VERY hard to keep track of the revolving door of woman in this and while it's done on purpose as a spoof of a cliche of this genre it still is hard to follow. Finally, I swear for like 85% of the runtime NOTHING HAPPENS. Like it's just setting up the initial plot, than spoofing Casablanca, a revolving door of woman, and jokes but none of it really ties together. And honestly, if you have enver seen a Noir, any actors in this, or Casablanca I really struggle to see why most people would like this. Unless your a HARDCORE Noir fan AND fan of any actors in this (especially Falk who is great when hes here but feels forgotten about in long stretches so is just alright overall) than skip this. See more nick s @Nick_S 01/25/2025 Had a lot of promise with nice sets and loads of star power. But leant a bit too heavily on one liners, making the comedy one dimensional. It also felt like the directing/editing wasn't snappy enough and uninteresting moments outstayed their welcome. Still, it's worth a watch. See more T W @RT69881970 12/11/2024 Even if it isn't Simon's best, it's still well worth a watch. As to comparisons to "Airplane!", this one was made years earlier. See more Read all reviews

The Cheap Detective

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