Throw Momma from the Train Blu-ray 1987 Edition - Classic Comedy Movie for Movie Nights & Nostalgic Film Collections

I first had the pleasure of seeing this movie when I was in the fourth grade. At the time I didn't really know what "black comedy" was-my 9 year old mind couldn't comprehend how one could make a comedy out of murdering someone. But I immediately identified with Billy Crystal as the frustrated writer, Larry. Even at 9 I knew that I was going to write for a living one day, and his struggles to get something, ANYTHING, down on paper were quite palpable to me. Combined with his ex-wife's phenomenal success in the same field, and his having to take a survival job of teaching creative writing at a local community college, you already have the makings of an Everyman a la Hitchcock (the only Hitchcock film I had seen at this point was "Psycho" so I didn't get the "Strangers On A Train" connection). It is in this writing course that he meets Owen, played to meek perfection by Danny DeVito. Owen is oppressed by his domineering, ogre of a mother, Anne Ramsey. Owen entices Larry to a screening of Hitchcock's underrated masterpiece "Strangers On A Train." After the film both men discuss the miserable state of their lives and come to the conclusion that the source of their problems are two women:Larry's ex, Owen's mother. Owen suggests that Larry murder his mom, in exchange for him murdering Larry's ex, "Criss cross." Larry dismisses the idea, but when his ex turns up missing, he is convinced that Owen has committed the crime and he is now obligated to kill Owen's mother. This is accomplished in a series of Rube Goldberg-inspired events, each one hilariously topping the last, none of which actually kill Mother. Again I hadn't been exposed to this type of humor before so I found it highly comical and clever. Later when I grew into adulthood I viewed this film again and found it even MORE witty-this is an adult comedy after all. Danny DeVito as the director is able to find all kinds of comedic nuances, from Mr. Crystal sitting at his typewriter trying to find the perfect adjective to describe the night, to the ending where they literally try to throw momma from the train. Even the cartoon-like ways that they try to kill mother come off as witty rather than silly. He is also able to suppress his usually manic obnoxiousness and let Mr. Crystal's neurosis lead the story. Although this is not my favorite Danny DeVito directed film, it is one of his most fun and amusing.