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Review: Murder Mystery (2019)

Review: Murder Mystery (2019)
04 May
2021
Not in Hall of Fame

Cast:

Adam Sandler                           Nick Spitz

Jennifer Aniston                        Audrey Spitz

Luke Evans                                Charles Cavendish

Terence Stamp                          Malcolm Quince

Gemma Arterton                       Grace Ballard

David Walliams                         Tobey Quince

Dany Boon                                Inspector de la Croix

John Kani                                  Colonel Ulenga

Adeel Akhtar                             Maharajah

Olafu Darri Olafsson                  Sergei

Luis Gerardo Mende                  Juan Carlos Rivera

Shioli Kutsuna                           Suzi Nakamura

Movie night is here again and we patiently (or impatiently as is the case of my wife) scanned through the NETFLIX menu to select the evening’s entertainment. After several discussions that were repetitious with several selections i.e. we’ve seen it, that is crap, seen it, don’t want to see it … we finally settled on Murder Mystery, a NETFLIX original. This film was selected primarily for two reasons, the first was that the film synopsis said that they were in Europe (and we are so vacation/travel starved it appealed to us) and the 2nd is that ever since she watched Friends, she has become a big fan of Aniston 

I on the other hand, agreed to the on-site Europe argument, kind-of indifferent to Aniston, but I do not really care for Sandler movies. They are kind of hit and miss for me….and often end up on the miss side of the spectrum. Sure he has done a few funny films in my opinion i.e. Big Daddy, Mr. Deeds, I now pronounce you Chuck and Larry, but there are some really bad ones as well; i.e. Don’t mess with the Zohan, Jack and Jill to name but a few.  Plus, at times I find his humour to be very infantile and I have to be in the right frame of mind to enjoy it. 

Anyways, we agreed on the film, I filled our glasses, adjusted the recliner, and turned out the lights and started the film. Now to the plot of the “Murder Mystery”; Murder Mystery is a light comedy that loosely follows the formula of traditional murder mysteries made famous by Agatha Christie. In this film, Nick Spitz (Sandler) is a NYPD beat cop who continually strives to become a detective, yet fails at every attempt. Nick (Sandler) has been married to Audrey (Aniston) for the last 15 years. Audrey (Aniston) is a hair dresser, and continually pines for the vacation that her husband promised her on their wedding day…a trip to Europe. So it is their wedding anniversary, and Nick (Sandler) has not only failed his detective’s exam yet again, he is really dropping the ball on what to get her for a gift. So later that night, while celebrating their marital achievement, Nick (Sandler) lies to his wife again and says that they were finally going to take the long promised honeymoon and that they were leaving for Europe for a bus tour. 

Making last minute arrangements, they are now on the plane to Europe. On the plane, Audrey (Aniston) wanders off to the first class area where she encounters the mysterious Charles Cavendish (Evans) a member of the Quince family, which happens to be uber wealthy and obviously has a great deal of influence. After a few drinks, Nick (Sandler) shows up, they all meet, chat, drink and laugh and Cavendish (Evans) offers an invitation for the Spitz’s to join him on the family yacht. 

After landing at their destination, Nick and Audrey are about to board the tour bus, while demonstrating a great deal of trepidation, especially with respect to their fellow bus travellers. A stereotypical mass of screaming children, obnoxious individuals and a group of blue haired tourists. Seeing Cavendish (Evans) lounging at his expensive car, they change their mind and join him on the yacht. On the yacht they meet a number of famous, semi-famous, and rather outrageous individuals. For example, there is a movie star, Grace Ballard (Arterton), a race car driver with limited English, Juan Carlos Rivera (Mende), Evans ex wife Suzi (Kutsuna), and current wife of the rich Uncle Malcolm Quince (Stamp). Not to mention a couple of other oddballs, the Maharajah (Akhtar), his bodyguard Sergei (Olaffson) and the strange son, Tobey (Walliams). 

With this odd-ball cast, the Spitz’s try to fit in with typical poor jokes, observations and some rather poor attempts at slapstick humour. Once this glorious yacht sets sail, the mystery really begins with the unexpected death of Malcolm Quince (Stamp) the guest’s benefactor. This is very important as he was about to sign a new will that was going to disown everyone in attendance (except the Spitz’s naturally). With the dead Uncle/husband/friend/father down for the count the Spitz’s use their sleuth like capabilities to ferret out the culprits while they are being chased by an inept French Gendarme, Inspector De La Croix (Boon) who believes that they are the culprits of the brutal murder. 

I did not really give out any spoilers as the movie is titled “Murder Mystery” and the trailers even allude to the fact that the Spitz’s are being framed for the crime, so with that in mind, let us talk about the positive of the film: First off, I have to say we loved the European scenery, we have walked down the same streets in Monte Carlo, have seen Nice and Villefranche from our own cruise ship and have walked the cobblestones of Italy. So for us, the film brought back lots of memories and enhanced the films enjoyment. The characters while kind of two dimensional and stereo typical of a murder mystery, were actually put together in a very amusing fashion and for this film it worked. We also enjoyed the chemistry between the two main characters (Anniston and Sandler). They worked extremely well together and sounded like a couple who had been married for years. While this is their second film together, I hope that they do others as this combination really sings.

The script and direction were also ok, it made us laugh when it was supposed to, and there was just enough mystery in the film to actually have us trying to figure out who the main killers were. While we suspected the culprits as there was some dramatic foreshadowing included throughout, we were not quite sure till near the end. 

What didn’t we like about the film? Well actually not that much. Sure the characters were at times a little bit cartoonish, but we expected that going into the film. So with that in mind, lets take a quick look at the cast of this film: 

Adam Sandler as Nick Spitz: Sandler actually did quite well in this role compared to some of his previous ventures. He has mastered the down and out, dopey husband role and when combined with the chemistry he has with Aniston, the film turned out well. Even his 1970’s porn star mustache actually fit his role well and it even reminded me of Tom Selleck in the TV show Magnum P.I. (this is also a bit of foreshadowing for you, if you have not yet seen this film.)  At times, Sandler’s characters can be a tad annoying or whiny, but in this film, the few times he went down that path, it actually worked. I have to say, for me, it was one his better films in the last few years. 

Jennifer Aniston as Audrey Spitz: Aniston has come along way since her time on Friends. We find her to be at her best in comedic roles where she can play off of a husband/boyfriend. As Sandler’s wife, she was a hairstylist who had an affinity for murder mystery’s and was actually more of a cop than her husband, which is what I think made this film work. As I previously mentioned, her and Sandler have great chemistry together and I would like to see them pair off in future films.  

Luke Evans as Charles Cavendish: Evans role of Cavendish was just the right part of snobbishness and foppery for the film. He has the British upper crust annoyance down and worked well with all of the principal and supporting cast. While it would make you wonder why a rich guy like him would invite the Spitz’s on his yacht, he provides just enough reason for us to go along with it in the end. An ok performance by Evans in this film.

Terence Stamp as Malcolm Quince: It seems that Stamp has been acting forever, and he still can deliver a role with the necessary gravitas that it requires. Even in this film, which is a comedy, he played the straight, stuck up stereotypical rich old man to a T. While it was a short role for Stamp, he still did it well and his character provides the impetus for the film. 

Gemma Arterton as Grace Ballard: Arterton also played her role quite well as the socialite/b-level movie start. While this film is pretty much a caricature anyways, she adds to the overall enjoyment. She delivered her lines well and had pretty good chemistry with the rest of the cast. It did take me a while to figure out who she was at first, as I knew I had watched her before. Lo and behold, after a quick look at IMDB, I see that she had been in several films that I liked (Clash of the Titans, Quantum of Solace). Overall, not bad, and I look forward to seeing her in future productions. 

David Walliams as Tobey Quince: Walliams played the bumbling son of Quince, and for his short role in the film, he did not do it too badly. With only limited screen time, his contribution was minimal, but still fitting for this film.  

Dany Boon as Inspector de la Croix: As the principal detective for this film, I felt that Boon was kind of a cross between Columbo and Inspector Clouseau from the Pink Panther. With more of a leaning to Clouseau. His muddled attempts at solving the mystery were humorous and played well against Sandler and Aniston. I had not seen him in any other films as his resume is pretty much centered in European films, but I did enjoy his performance nonetheless. 

Adeel Akhtar as Maharajah: Akhtar was another actor I had not really heard of before. I found his character of the Maharaja to be entertaining and actually quite funny. His character played an important enough role to give him enough screen time to actually make an impact in the film. A really enjoyable performance.

Luis Gerardo Mende as Juan Carlos Rivera: Mende is much like Akhtar, I had not heard of him before or really saw anything that he was in, but his role as Juan Carlos was very enjoyable. The broken English and stereotyped reactions were very funny to us. His character is pivotal to the films conclusion and was value added. Mende had great chemistry with all of his co-stars, and I hope that I will see him in future shows/movies.

Shioli Kutsuna as Suzi Nakamura: A minor character, but with seemingly great importance Kutsuna did an admirable job within the film. Her role was sufficient enough to add to the films enjoyment without trying to take away from the story itself. 

So, what did we think of this film, were we entertained? Well, this is a Sandler film, so we knew it was not going to win any awards, or cause us a great deal of investment into the characters or the plot itself. However, having said that, there were enough twists, chemistry, snappy dialogue and most importantly, the scenery kept us watching throughout. Even though it had many of the stereotypes, every cliché in the book and at times an infantile Sandler, we still managed to laugh and kept watching. Overall, not a bad timewaster and if you are fan of the genre, Sandler and Aniston, then by all means, watch this film and enjoy the ride. If your tastes are more cerebral, then you should give this a pass. 

Our rating: 4/10

If you are interested in other films, projects with the main cast, please consider the following recommendations:

Adam Sandler               Spanglish, 50 First Dates, I now pronounce you Chuck and Larry, Mr. Deeds, Click

Jennifer Aniston            Friends, Horrible Bosses, We’re the Millers, Derailed

Luke Evans                    Midway, Dracula Untold, The Girl on the Train, Furious 7

Terence Stamp              Valkyrie, Yes Man, Get Smart, Wanted, My Boss’s Daughter, Star Wars: Episode 1 – The Phantom Menace, Young Guns 

Gemma Arterton           Prince of Persia, The Escape, The Prince of Persia: Sands of Time, Clash of the Titans

Shioli Kutsuna               Deadpool 2

Till next time!

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