It was Colonel Mustard with the lead piping in the ballroom! The “whodunit,” like that of those ambiguous serial killer documentaries, taps into our morbid curiosity. Cluedo (or Clue, in the states) is a game that not only tickles our competitive taste buds but simultaneously satisfies our appetite for getting to the bottom of a theoretical murder on a piece of tarted-up cardboard. A fictional bit of fun that throws us into the heart of a crime scene, where we use every ounce of our perceptive and observant skills as we listen to our fellow competitors for any implicit or incriminating evidence and jot down clues on our notepads. Sherlock Holmes really is no match, as you weave your way in and out of rooms, mercilessly interrogating everyone you suspect along the way.
It is little wonder that murder mystery movies have gripped cinema since their inception, and the genre has created some of the finest films ever made, from David Fincher’s Seven to Roman Polanski’s Chinatown. With the addition of comedy, a murder mystery makes for a fun-filled, intriguing, and interactive experience for its audience. With a Knives Out sequel expected to be released later this year on Netflix, here are some of the best comedy murder mystery movies…
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6 Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Buena Vista Pictures Distribution
Adapted from Gary K. Wolf’s novel, Who Censored Roger Rabbit? comes the ultimate kid’s film, that perhaps, nowadays, isn’t actually suitable for children at all… the slightly outdated PG rating aside. The fantasy comedy Who Framed Roger Rabbit follows the story of Toon Roger (Charles Fleischer), who suspects his wife of having an affair with Marvin Acme. Hiring a detective to investigate further, it transpires that Marvin ends up dead, and Roger is framed for his murder.
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The live-action and animation hybrid, as you’d expect, contains all the amusement of a kid’s animation and combines it with more experienced humor to make it a light-hearted whizz of a film. Plus, Christopher Lloyd gives an incredible and genuinely creepy performance.
5 Clue
Paramount Pictures Studios
The 1985 dark comedy, Clue is a screen adaptation of a game of a different kind. Based on the aforementioned board game, Jonathan Lynn’s film follows the story of a group of six people being blackmailed, each given a weapon upon their arrival; the blackmailer is killed and so the mystery of “whodunit” begins. Like the game, it’s a very entertaining flick with lots of twists and turns that keep you guessing until the very end, and has a great Tim Curry performance that proves why he’s so iconic.
4 Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
Warner Bros. Pictures
In Kiss Kiss Bang Bang Harry Lockhart (Robert Downey Jr.) is a petty thief operating in New York who, whilst posing as an actor, becomes inadvertently embroiled in a murder mystery in Hollywood. Shane Black’s motion picture is thoroughly riveting, with its sharp cuts, pinpoint script, and an array of characters who complement one another exquisitely. Through Robert Downey Jr.’s perfect voiceover narration, the film is gifted a third, comical dimension. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is arguably one of the best comedy murder mysteries ever made.
3 Hot Fuzz
Universal Pictures
“When’s your birthday?”
“22nd February”
“What Year?”
“Every year”
So exclaims an underage drinker in The Crown pub in the fictional Sandford, and there you have it, one of the most vanguard pieces of detective work ever formulated on the silver screen. The second and penultimate installment of Edgar Wright’s Cornetto trilogy, the hilarious Hot Fuzz traverses the story of super-cop Nicholas Angel (Simon Pegg), as he goes to the seemingly idyllic, crime-less village of Sandford, and uncovers a series of funny but disturbing events that lead him to infiltrate a sordid, murderous cult. As with many of Wright’s movies, he strikes a fine balance between mouthwatering action and comedic sketches which tie into the film so brilliantly.
2 Manhattan Murder Mystery
TriStar Pictures
Woody Allen directs and stars in his 1993 movie, Manhattan Murder Mystery, a film that at the time challenged genre conventions with its mash-up of comedy, romance, mystery, and suspense; it remains a frenetic and typical Allen movie, with an abundance of quirks and knife-sharp dialogue. Along with co-star Diane Keaton, who plays Allen’s on-screen wife Carol, the pair assume investigatory roles when they discover the body of their dead neighbor and smell a rat, believing that foul play is afoot.
1 Knives Out
Lionsgate
In order to be a competent detective, one must possess one of the three essential characteristics; being a perceptive social interpreter, being observationally intuitive, or finally, and possibly most importantly, having a French name. Luckily, for Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) in Rian Johnson’s Knives Out, he has all three, yet sadly, what he’s devoid of is a legitimately plausible southern-American accent (sorry, Daniel). The 2019 movie is as quintessential a murder mystery as one can fathom, and it utilizes all the tricks of the trade, full to the brim with different and equally devious character motivations, as Detective Benoit Blanc is drafted in to unravel the murder of a famed author. We are taken on a methodical, step-by-step journey, as each one of the suspects has their dirty laundry aired.
