Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Favorite Fictional Character --- The Madcap Group of Clue


Just looking at the picture, how can you help but love each and everyone of these crazy, troubled individuals?  For anyone not familiar with the movie Clue, based on the ingenious board game of the same name, let me introduce you to the characters.

Starting on the left hand side we have the gorgeous and seductive Miss Scarlet, who happens to run a call girl outfit in Washington, D.C.  She is vivacious and oozes sex appeal in everything that she does, but it can't hide the danger lurking in her eyes. 

Standing next to her is Colonel Mustard, the straight laced military man who has been in trouble a time or two.  Is paying for the company of attractive women his only vice?  Or does he perhaps have another, even more deadly secret that he will do anything he can to protect?

And how could we forget the neurotic Mrs. White?  When her nuclear physicist husband dies mysteriously, is she in mourning or is she hiding behind that veil?  What secrets did her husband take to his grave? Is she the black widow or is she innocent of any wrong doing?

Mr. Green, the closeted homosexual state department worker, is not only deeply troubled but in the McCarthy era of the 1950s, he is considered a deviant and not someone any of us want to be like.  Is he capable of killing to keep his secrets secret?  Or is he really the mild mannered young man he appears to be?

Wadsworth, the gentleman's butler, seems to be the ringleader of this little party.  Is he the perfect servant and host who only had the best interests of the guests in mind or is he something else?  Is he in fact the double dealing blackmailer himself, maybe a FBI agent in disguise, or is he none of these things?  Only time will tell.

Then we have Professor Plum, the psychiatrist who has an unorthodox approach to treating his patients.  The prof may appear to be a regular ladies man but he may be hiding a deeper and crueler desire for the fair sex.  Is there a sexual predator hiding behind those glasses or is he like the lecherous uncle we all seem to have that nobody takes seriously?

That leaves us with Mrs. Peacock.  The prim and proper wife of a U.S. Senator, who also happens to be taking bribes in order to influence her husband's votes.  Is she willing to go to the extreme in order to protect her cash flow or will her love of monkey brains prove once and for all that even if she is greedy, she isn't capable of killing someone.

When you add these brilliantly written and acted characters into a plot line that not only includes blackmail, red herrings galore, and multiple murders you should expect perfection.  What you really get is so much better than that, it defies definition and no words are able to sum up the magnificence that comes across the screen as you view the mad happenings.

Watching these characters try to solve the murders and how their secrets not only decides who lives or dies but gives the viewer a wonderful back story to get lost in, is a cinematic feast.  I guess I could go on and on about how neurotic each character is and how watching all those quirks and personality traits surface is a pleasure to behold or how the fast paced writing keeps you on your toes the entire time you are watching, but I won't.  Instead I will simply urge everyone who has never seen this movie to discover these fabulous characters for yourselves.

5 comments:

Michelle Stockard Miller said...

Great, great post this week! I love the game CLUE, I love the movie and I love the cast of the movie. Especially Tim Curry, but they're all awesome. Thanks for the entertainment!

Staci said...

I've never watched the movie but this board game was a huge staple of life for me growing up!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the reminder. I just went and put the movie on hold at the library. It's one I've been wanting to see again and I think my daughter will enjoy it, too.

Ceri said...

Haha! I've never seen this film.

In the British version of this game (Cluedo) it's Reverend Green. And Mrs White looks like an old cook. :P

Melissa (My World...in words and pages) said...

Ha Ha ha!! I always LOVED this movie. I use to get such a kick out of it. And when they all start running around the mansion talking about who did what with what. :D GReat pick! And I love the ending as well.