When I saw Clue in theaters way back in the Jurassic, it was fine. The critical reviews were mixed and I thought it was maybe a little bit better than the consensus. And that was it… a board game movie had more-or-less worked and the world moved on.

But a funny thing happened between it and the live action version of, say, Battleship years later. A younger generation absorbed it directly into pop culture by watching it on VHS and cable. And slowly over the years, I saw and read more and more people say how funny and incredible the movie was. It seeped its way into being an 80s classic. And me, just thinking it was alright.

So I finally decided to watch it again. It’s been so long since I saw it last (on VHS with all the endings), it was like watching it for the first time again. And I came away with the exact same opinion I had back when dinosaurs ruled the Earth.

It’s a fine movie… I laughed a decent amount, at least in the first half. And that all the running about and pratfalls in the final act were a little desperate and not as funny as they clearly thought it was. No doubt the actors had a ton of fun with all the pratfalls and physical comedy – and I’m guessing it worked for the folks who have put this film on a pedestal – but it didn’t work for me (being a giant pill and all).

But, hey, it was still a pretty good flick and it was a gas to see all the actors so young again (Tim Curry and Christopher Lloyd especially). And to marvel at how some of those actors themselves have fallen into obscurity and are probably only known for this movie by a certain set. So three cheers for immortality of any kind.

And, regardless of what I think, it’s fun that a board game got turned into a movie even as good as this. And why shouldn’t it? It’s a play on a classic whodunnit with all the character archetypes already served up right out of the box.

Any, hey, I still remember how the three endings to the movie were served to us back in the day. In case you didn’t know, each ending had its own showtimes at the theater and if you wanted to see each, you had to make sure you went to the A, B, or C showing. Not sure how many people did that but they were kind enough to put them all together on the VHS (and other home media as the years went on). For the record, the first and third endings were good… the second ending was lame. And I’m sure someone has studiously mapped out each ending to prove they were possible. I haven’t that level of investment.

So I was happy to see Clue again after all these years. I may even have liked it a bit more in a way with the benefit of hindsight. Not convinced it deserves its classic status but that’s not for me to decide.

Score: 75