Throw Momma from the Train

This is a writer’s movie, by Billy Crystal movie, based on the Hitchcock film Strangers on a Train, which is in turn adapted from Patricia Highsmith’s thriller by the same name. She was an excellent writer who was successful in Europe but, until the Talented Mr. Ripley movies with Matt Damon came out, never made much progress here. I read all three of the Ripley movies, and Strangers on a Train, when I was writing that kind of stuff. Throw Momma from the Train stars Billy Crystal and Danny DeVito and some other good cast including a cameo by Rob Reiner who plays Billy Crystal’s agent. It’s quite entertaining and funny, even though to me Billy Crystal is pretty much over the top.

The two men in the Highsmith novel meet for the first time on a train, (ya think>) figure out that each wants to kill somebody, and they agree to kill each other’s person of interest. That way there would be no obvious motive and they would have committed the perfect crime. The more aggressive one goes ahead, the other, rather a milk-toast, backs out. The one who goes ahead becomes furious when he finds out the other guy backed out.

Throw Momma from the Train is a writer’s movie. Billy Crystal plays a writing-blocked writing teacher, and Danny DeVito is a kind of off-the-mark student. Billy Crystal talks about how much he hates his ex-wife, Danny wants Billy Crystal to kill his momma. There are lots of good insights about writing. It’s a comedy and no one dies, even though Momma is so obnoxious you’d love to strangle her. One thing Highsmith had to do, Crystal points out to DeVito’s character, to make her plot work, was eliminate motive, otherwise they’d get both get caught.

It’s pretty old by now, but I recommend it anyway. You can find the trailer on YouTube.

NEXT: Phone Booths..