The Cheap Detective [VHS]
Most fans of everything-but-the-kitchen-sink comedies likeThe Naked GunandHot Shotsprobably think the genre started withAirplane!, but Neil Simon'sThe Cheap Detectivecame two years earlier. It's a camp parody of Humphrey Bogart's 1940s detective flicks (particularlyThe Maltese FalconandThe Big Sleep), with a big dose ofCasablancathrown in for good measure. There's no point in describing the plot--it's little more than a series of cameos by just about every actor working in the 1970s, including Ann-Margaret, Eileen Brennan, Stockard Channing, James Coco, Scatman Crothers, Dom DeLuise, John Houseman, Marsha Mason, and Nicol Williamson. Peter Falk plays the detective and does a fine Bogey impression. Unfortunately, it's not Neil Simon's best work--he's better at character comedy such asThe Odd CoupleandThe Goodbye Girlthan this kind of slapstick--but there are a few good lines and the cast gives it their best. Louise Fletcher, not usually known for comedy, does a sharp satire of Ingrid Bergman inCasablanca, and Madeline Kahn never fails to entertain in a variety of disguises.--Bret Fetzer