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...they made movies with comic premises, story structure, and denoument. This movie has them all, and most comedies by comparison are puffed-up TV fare.

The tone is almost European: There are no good guys, and the protagonist is willing, even eager, for his wife to be killed by her kidnappers.

Forget nudity or explicit violence. You know you're watching a film for grown-ups when it's willing to plumb the depths of this situation for the comic gold within, not just string a few gags on it.

Highest accolades all around.

I confess to loving comedies of the '80s, preferring them to what now passes for comedy. Ruthless People is a classic example of the genre, an extremely clever and funny film with a wonderful cast: Danny DeVito, Bette Midler, Judge Reinhold, Helen Slater, Anita Morris, and Bill Pullman.

The story concerns a wealthy clothing manufacturer Sam Stone (DeVito) who wants to see his wife Barbara (Midler) dead and informs his mistress Carol (Morris) that he's going to kill her. The mistress sends her boyfriend (Pullman) to get the murder on tape so they can blackmail him. He gets something on tape, but it's not Stone killing Barbara. Carol doesn't look at the tape, and her boyfriend has never seen Stone, so they don't know what they have. Sam isn't able to murder Barbara because she's been kidnapped by two nice people who just want some money (Reinhold and Slater). Sam is thrilled - all he has to do is disobey all their orders, not pay up, and someone else will kill his wife.

This is a very engaging comedy about blackmail, attempted murder, mistaken identity, infidelity, stealing ideas -- none of which is a great premise for a comedy but all of which work beautifully here. Danny DeVito is hilarious, and Bette Midler gives probably her best performance as his wife, who just wants to lose a few pounds. Reinhold and Slater are as adorable as they are guileless.

Highly recommended.

"Ruthless People" is a genuinely original farce that kept me laughing to the point of exhaustion. It's masterful how all these characters interweave, creating more and more hilarious subplots. The cast is a tour de force. Danny DeVito gives quite possibly the best comic performance of his career! Bette Midler is also great as his whiny, obnoxious wife. It's good to see Judge Reinhold, who practically disappeared after finishing the "Beverly Hills Cop" flicks. An early performance by Bill Pullman is also worth checking out. I think he's a real cool actor, but he usually plays the same yuppie roles. Here, he plays a dim-witted, trailer-trash airhead and is a delight to watch. There are so many funny moments that will stick in my mind forever, like when the serial killer invades the house. "You look like my mother, I hate my mother." And the confusion that was created with the sex video was absolutely classic. I haven't seen a good comedy in a while, nor have laughed this hard in a while. That's why I was glad to catch this movie on the Starz Network, because it is one of the funniest comedies I've ever seen and nowadays, you ain't gonna see too many good comedies, nor great ones like this. A MUST-SEE!!!

My score: 9 (out of 10)

I thought this movie was hilarious. Almost everything anyone says has a double meaning. (The police chief and the hooker, the big dog, etc) This movie will keep you laughing from beginning to end. Bette Midler is terrific as the kidnapped rich man's wife, and Danny DeVito is also fabulous as the scheming rich man himself. There are thousands of great one-liners that you will keep quoting for years after you see this movie (I know I have) like the unforgettable "I've been kidnapped by K-Mart!" and "You lying @#$*%^!!! Oh, honey, they made me say that!" This is a must see! So go see it! Now! What are you still reading this for, you should be out renting the movie!!

This is one of my favorite movies. I laughed hysterically at every joke, every joke hit its target. But that's not what's so great about this movie. This movie has an all-star cast (Devito, Midler, Reinhold, Pullman) and they do a great job with the script. But that's not what's so great about this movie. The best thing about this movie is the intricately woven plot, which keeps your attention and comes to a hilarious finale. This is one of the funniest movies ever. See this and you won't regret it.