With “Throw Momma from the Train” (1987), prolific sitcom writer Stu Silver uses the premise of Alfred Hitchcock’s “Strangers on a Train” (1951) as a jumping-off point for pitch-black humor. With Danny DeVito (who also directs) starring as Owen – who wants his mom bumped off – and Billy Crystal starring as Larry – who hates his ex-wife – the movie is incongruously innocent and likeable.
The film lacks laugh-out-loud moments, but the vibe is breezy as we step into a world where hatred and desire for murder seem so appropriate that it’s not even uncomfortable. Larry’s ex Margaret (a striking pre-“Star Trek” Kate Mulgrew) has stolen his book idea and become rich and famous.
Owen’s live-in mother (Anne Ramsey) is demanding and belittling. Ramsey gives a performance that’s easy to underappreciate. Momma is so annoying that we immediately understand why Owen wants to be free of her, but she’s also pathetic, being borderline mentally challenged. Momma is enough out of step with reality that we’re not asked to take things too seriously.
“Throw Momma from the Train” (1987)
Director: Danny DeVito
Writer: Stu Silver
Stars: Danny DeVito, Billy Crystal, Kim Greist
I like “Throw Momma’s” 1987 vibe and the laid-back ease with which everything – other than the scheme itself – progresses. Larry is a writing teacher frustrated with his own work, but the job is steady and his new girlfriend, Kim Greist’s Beth, truly likes him.
Owen’s life isn’t as good, as he’s stuck with Momma and we can see he’s not a promising writing student. He crafts a murder-mystery short story with only two characters. Plus, the fact that he’s taking the class from Larry doesn’t bode well. Larry himself can’t get past the first line of his first novel: “The night was moist.”
Shades of Hitchcock, in a different genre
But DeVito makes Owen so earnest about the goal of trading murders with Larry that I somehow found him harmless. Larry comes off likable, too, even though he goes around yelling about how his ex is a “Slut!” (While perhaps true in this case, it’s not traditionally appealing behavior.)
DeVito peppers in some Hitchcockian flourishes, like an overhead shot of a bedraggled Larry at his desk, perhaps a nod to “Dial M for Murder” (then again, maybe I’m overanalyzing it). He and Silver trust the audience less than Hitchcock would, though.
While meta humor was not new in 1987, Silver’s screenplay beats us over the head with the fact that this setup comes from “Strangers on a Train.” The pacing picks up later, but I would’ve liked more inspired mini-premises. One of the funniest finds a murder-attempting Owen hiding behind the couch as Margaret – proving to be exactly what Larry says she is – has afternoon sex with the gardener.
Reflecting the tone of the whole film, DeVito plays the scene casually; the simple-minded Owen never seems concerned with details or consequences. Larry is, so Crystal plays him frantically. So we have a pure-comedy answer to the intense and surprising Farley Granger-Robert Walker interactions in “Strangers,” although I suspect Hitchcock found the cinematic drama winkingly amusing.
Ultimately, “Throw Momma from the Train” – which like “Strangers on a Train” only barely features a train – is a good sitcom premise padded out. But it’s elevated by DeVito and Crystal at the height of their powers, and a supporting cast that recognizes this unusual tone of whimsical pitch-black comedy.
RFMC’s Alfred Hitchcock series reviews works by the Master of Suspense, plus remakes and source material. Click here to visit our Hitchcock Zone.