Élémentaire, mon cher... Lock Holmes

Every once in a while you see a movie that most everyone overlooks but it still strikes a cord with you. Without A Clue is a such a movie. It starts with a clever premise, Watson is the brains behind the bumbling Holmes, and while the actual criminal investiation in the movie isn't exactly a big stretch in deductive reasoning, what makes this movie worthwhile are the solid performances of Michael Caine and Ben Kingsley. The professional reviews linked with this movie would have you believe this movie isn't worth the bother, but that's not true. Caine and Kingsley seem to be having the time of their lives in this movie. (Granted Kingsley has the less flashy role but he still fills it with a great deal of subtley that the likes of Roger Ebert and his ilk must have missed) The quote page has some great excerpts from this funny movie, but there's so much more to it than just that. This one ranks as a guilty pleasure of mine, maybe not one that sits in everyone else's video collection, but it definitely holds a place in mine.

This is one of Michael Caine's funniest performances and he and Ben Kingsley worked quite well together. The supporting cast is top-notch as well. Jeffry Jones as LeStrade is very good and Peter Cook has a fine supporting turn. As for the premise-that Holmes was a front for Watson, given the fact that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was himself a physician and that he grew so sick of Holmes he tried to kill him off, I suspect he would have enjoyed the whole thing enormously. Twists and turns throughout, as a good mystery should and enough comedy to keep you laughing. Some interesting twists at the end. Poor LeStrade! Recommended.

WITHOUT A CLUE

Aspect ratio: 1.85:1

Sound format: Dolby Stereo

'Sherlock Holmes' turns out to be a ham actor (Michael Caine), hired by brilliant detective Dr. John Watson (Ben Kingsley) to play a character whose adventures are dramatized by Watson and published in a popular weekly magazine. But the two men are forced to set aside their differences when Prof. Moriarty (Paul Freeman) hatches a fiendish plot to destabilize the British Empire.

An unexpected gem. Thom Eberhardt's clever revision of Holmesian lore foregoes puns and sight gags for character-based comedy, and a wonderful cast of experienced British thesps plays it with just the right degree of reverence and mockery (Caine and Kingsley, in particular, make a formidable comic team). However, the script - by Gary Murphy and Larry Strawther - is entirely faithful to the spirit of Arthur Conan Doyle's most famous creation: Despite Holmes' incompetence and Watson's escalating outrage, the central mystery is genuinely skillful and engrossing, the clues are delightfully outlandish, and the Victorian atmosphere is conveyed with elegant simplicity, thanks to stylish art direction (by Brian Ackland-Snow) and costume design (by Judy Moorcroft). However, the writers aren't afraid to poke gentle fun at the established conventions, particularly Holmes'/Watson's uncanny ability to draw conclusions from even the most obscure scraps of evidence, and the climax manages to combine warm-hearted comedy and genuine thrills during a final showdown with Moriarty in an abandoned theatre. Highly recommended.

The premise is so clever. Sherlock Holmes never really existed. It was Dr. Watson (Ben Kingsley) who had been solving these cases all along, and simply hired bumbling actor Reginald Kincaid (Michael Caine) to play the fake Sherlock Holmes.

To those who are hard-core Holmes fans, this film will be cherished. Sadly, the VHS is out of print in the USA (I bought mine used at a flea market), and DVDs are available only in Europe.

(UPDATE: The film has been released on DVD in the USA, but in Pan & Scan.)

Also, the film received hardly any promotion in the USA. But it is lavishly directed, cleverly written, and magnificently cast.

Everything about this film deserves exclamation points!

Track it down any way you can, and prepare to laugh out loud.

Its a shame this film is not better appreciated.Its the finest parody of the Holmes Mythos ever set to screen. The stories are sent up without being malicious.Its an absurdists view with loads of honest laughs. Ben Kinsley shines as Dr. Watson,the true brains behind the Holmes cases.In order to continue his medical practice without repurcussion (Crime Solving is shunned upon for a respected professional)Watson invents a character named Holmes. His reputation grows to the point that people wish to meet him...enter Reginald Kincaid played to perfection by Michael Caine. Kincaid is a drunken,out of work actor hired by Watson to play Holmes. With the teaming of these two screen greats the chemistry is electric. Add a solid supporting cast of wonderful character actors (including Paul Freeman as Moriarty and Jeffrey Jones as Lestrade)and a very convincing performance from the lovely Lysette Anthony and the film is off to a great start. The screenplay and Direction solidify its relevence as a first class comedic romp. If you can catch "Without A Clue" on television don't miss it! Its not yet available on DVD and sadly out of print on video.