Let me first start off by saying I am a big fan of the actors in this movie. Adam Sandler, Jennifer Anniston, Luke Evans, are awesome, so this movie is loaded like a baked potato. And from what I see on screen, the budget looks big enough to handle the demands of a high-concept script. In other words, this movie has all the right ingredients to serve up a nine-course meal, but instead, it spits out dirty socks.
In case you didn’t get my puns, this movie sucks.
And Murder Mystery is not one of the flicks that start off strong then loses steam. It’s like a fermented piece of crap that stinks to heaven from the get-go and gets worse within the hour. The director, Kyle Newacheck, and the screenwriter, James Vanderbilt, should be banned from ever making a movie again.
The only redeeming quality of this movie is that you can learn what not to do, as a storyteller.
- OVER EXPLAINING RAMBLING DIALOGUE – The characters in this movie talk-talk-talk. There is no subtext from what I can tell. Every emotion is explained from the actor’s mouth. That little cliche rule of “Show don’t tell” could really apply here. And the worst part about the dialogue is that it’s not clever or even funny. It’s whiny and useless.
- CHARACTERS ARE THE SAME AND FLAT – Flat as the geek who can’t bench the bar at the gym. Most script problems come down to characters, how well were created, and how close they are to reality. The closer they are to true personalities, the more the audience would be able to relate to them, thus making a movie more enjoyable. None of that happens here.
- THE STORY IS JUST STUPID – For a moment, the movie felt like the board game Clue or the movie, Murder on the Orient Express. But the board game was fun. This was just painful.
My mom, who really wanted to watch this, lasted 10 minutes before she checked out. My friend, who watches tons of movies, clicked it off after 5 minutes. I actually watched it all the way till the end just to review it and hated every second of it.
Do you know how this movie ended? With a cheesy Scooby-Doo who done it moment. I shouldn’t insult Scooby-Doo like that, because those shows are well made. But it was soooooo bad….. It just didn’t make any sense. And again, more over-explaining.
Don’t waste your time with this one. This is a movie that is worse than The Last Jedi. At least The Last Jedi was watchable – It was stupid, ruined the Star Wars Universe, but at least you could watch to the end. Murder Mystery is unbearable.
GRADE: F
Steve Young
