Review – Murder by Death

If you’re fairly familiar with the old standbys of the mystery genre, you should get a real kick out of this spoof. Of course, when I say “old standbys,” I mean it. We’re talking Nick and Nora, Poirot, Miss Marple, Sam Spade and Charlie Chan, all parodied by a cast of character actors including Peter Sellers, Alec Guinness, and many more. A lot of the jokes assume you know at least a little about genre clichés, and some of the other funny bits are a bit on the juvenile side. And of course with anything involving Charlie Chan, some racism is involved. But for the most part this is a thoroughly amusing if not especially mentally challenging viewing experience. I was particularly fond of the broad humor at the end, though more than that I can’t say without committing the cardinal mystery sin and giving it away. Worth seeing