This movie is probably the finest parody of Sherlock Holmes I've ever seen . Yes , I like Wilder's "Private life of Sherlock Holmes " . Yes , Levinson's "Young Sherlock Holmes " was fun . "Without the clue" in my opinion easily beats them all . The idea here is simple , but brilliant (like the most of ideas) – what if Watson was the smart one and Holmes was an idiot ? This little movie is a great character comedy.
The movie actually really feels like a SERIOUS Sherlock Holmes movie . The music , the mood , the costumes and the art-direction – everything that is needed to bring the world of Holmes from the books on the screen alive is top-notch . Look at the beginning of the movie . Until the moment when Watson begins to shout at Holmes you could be easily fooled that this is just another adaptation of Conan Doyle's books. Hell , the whole plot is done well . If they would keep the original characterizations of the characters this would be a really good "normal" Holmes movie . This is something I feel that was lost by both Wilder and Levinson – the soul of Sherlock Holmes world .
The jokes here are simple , sometimes predictable . There are some more subtle jokes that you might miss , if you're not watching closely ( joke with the disappearing watch , joke with the violin ) . The true strength of this movie lies in the performances of Michael Caine and Ben Kingsley . I was especially surprised by Kingsley . I've never seen him in comedy before . He usually plays a rather evil and menacing characters . I've seen Caine in comedy before , so I knew he was perfectly capable to give a fine performance.
Kingsley and Caine have a wonderful chemistry together that is rarely seen on screen . They can make even the simplest line of dialogue hilarious and the interaction between them is a pleasure to watch . I seriously think that without them , the whole movie wouldn't have work . The other actors give them a good support , especially Jeffrey Jones . He's perfect for the role of Lestrade . He's got one hilarious scene when he's trying to figure out what Holmes said to him – he's facial expression is worth Academy Award . Great performance.
As I mentioned earlier the movie is very attractive visually and the orchestral music by Henry Mancini (famous for "Pink panther theme ") fits the story very well .
Overlooked and unappreciated , even now . Too bad . I give it 7/10.
