This probably ranks in my top 10 comedies to be honest. And it’s based on a board game! Seriously, not many game-based movies end up doing well in their adaptations (Sonic the Hedgehog being a recent exception to the rule – can’t praise that one enough) so with this one being a board game adaptation I feel like it made things incredibly fun.
For anyone who might not know the premise of the board game, each player is given certain clues as to who killed Mr. Boddy, and the longer the game is played the more you can deduce who did it, in what room, and with which weapon. The movie lifts many of the game’s elements like the weapons, rooms, secret passages, and even throws in a couple of extra “players” into the story. With a comical cast, most notably Tim Curry as the butler leading the way, the movie takes every chance it can to make a murder mystery funny.
And the reason I would have wanted to see it in theaters is because its original run had three alternate endings that would play in different locations, much like how the game can end in a number of different ways. Sure, these days you can watch all three in a row if you’ve got the DVD, but I think it could have been more fun not knowing what to expect if I went for another viewing.
Marshall's Matters 