HotToastyRag As the tagline says, watch Without a Clue to "meet the world's greatest detective, and his bumbling partner." It's a film with the famed literary detective duo, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, but in this version, it's Dr. Watson who's the genius. Sherlock Holmes is an idiot! I absolutely love this movie, and I can't recommend it highly enough. Even if you've never seen a Sherlock Holmes movie or read a story, you'll still love it. The jokes are both clever and hilarious, which is a rare and welcomed combination. In the entire 107-minute running time, there might have been a collective ten minutes in which I wasn't laughing myself silly. Several times I had to press pause and guffaw, waiting to resume the film until I'd composed myself. Thank you Gary Murphy and Larry Strawther for writing such a side-splittingly funny movie.A perfectly hysterical script is a good start, but if bad actors with lousy timing deliver the lines, the movie will be terrible. Michael Caine and Ben Kingsley have a wonderful chemistry together, and they both add so much to their roles. While anyone else might play Sherlock Holmes as an ordinary doofus, Michael Caine puts himself in the moment so the blunders are really unintentional. He isn't playing dumb; he means well and happens to be stupid. I'm convinced anyone else cast as Dr. Watson would have played him with more of an angry, jealous, resentful edge. Ben Kingsley is enormously kind, so even when he's frustrated with Michael Caine, the audience can tell he's still a caring person and enjoys his rapport with his lesser half.When they're attacked by Paul Freeman's henchman, Michael Caine gets really upset and worried. Ben Kingsley reassures him that he isn't the real target because Paul is only trying to stop the smarter of the two. "He knows you're an idiot," he says, with only good intentions behind the remark. There's a beat before Michael Caine's response, and the audience thinks he'll certainly take offense, but instead he sighs, "Oh, thank God!" It's one of my favorite jokes in the film, since it shows the adorable combination of sweetness and comedy that runs through the script.If you've had a bad day, Without a Clue will cheer you up. If you've had a good day, Without a Clue will make it better. Do yourself a favor and buy a copy. Renting it once won't be enough.

formationlc I have just finished watching this movie after viewing the entire Sherlock Holmes series with Jeremy Brett. Of course, it was not the first time I watched this parody but then again, after viewing and savoring the remarkable performance of Mr. Brett, it makes this movie even funnier than usual for it puts emphasis on the delirious dialogue and the amazing acting and comical talent of Mr. Caine, extremely well supported by a wonderful cast. How astonishingly funny the man can be, even without saying a single word. This is a superb production with lots of attention given to details and respectful mockery of Sir Doyle's characters. Even Lestrade's portrait by Jeffrey Jones is hilarious. Definitely worth watching.

capone666 Without a ClueWithout the hat, pipe, and magnifying glass Sherlock Holmes looked an awful lot like Jack the Ripper.However, this comedy about the super snoop doesn't speak to such speculation.Unbeknownst to the public, the character of Sherlock Holmes was a figure of Dr. Watson's (Ben Kingsley) imagination that never existed until this very moment.When a 5-pound banknote-printing machine goes missing, the Bank of England and the British government want Holmes on the case, and no one else.But since he isn't real, Watson must hire an inane actor (Michael Caine) to portray the savvy sleuth as depicted in his short stories.A second-rate send up of the astute literary figure, this spoof shows a darker side to Watson, while adding more slapstick to Sherlock's repertoire than fans may be comfortable with.Furthermore, if Watson wrote the Sherlock Holmes stories than that makes Sir Arthur Conan Doyle a talentless hack.Yelllow Lightvidiotreviews.blogspot.ca

fedor8 WAC, along with "Blame It On Rio" and "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels", is perhaps the best example (though one of many) of why Caine is one of the funniest guys in movies. WAC is stylish and visually nice – in spite of being both a comedy AND having been made in the visually bland late 80s. This makes it unique, in a way. It was made to look very realistic not only because WAC is simply nicer to look at that way, but because a realistic backdrop only increases the effectiveness of the comedy. (The Pythons knew this well, hence the enormous effort they'd put into making "Holy Grail" and "Life of Brian" looking as good as they do.) The script is excellent. Laughs are continual, with the occasional quirky touches that elevate this essentially commercial comedy above the sea of formulaic turds that have been infesting (now more than ever before) the big screen.The only weakness, somewhat predictably, is the grand finale when WAC deteriorates into childishly unfunny slapstick farce. It is unfortunate that most writers and directors feel the need to end comedies with a big action finale, thereby sacrificing the laughs in favour of a couple of explosions or chases.