Owen asked his friend, Larry, for a small favor...

Starring: Danny DeVito, Billy Crystal, Kim Greist, Anne Ramsey, Kate Mulgrew, Bradford Marsalis, Rob Reiner, Bruce Kirby

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★☆☆☆ - good

"She's not a woman... she's the Terminator." - Larry

Why watch this? A superb dark comedy about a bad momma and a nice little murder plot.

Plot Summary: This dark comedy is about a writing student, Owen, who proposes a murder exchange to his professor, Larry. Owen suggests he will eliminate Larry's hated ex-wife if Larry, in turn, kills Owen's overbearing mother. The professor initially dismisses this offer as a joke, but his perspective shifts when his ex-wife disappears and he becomes the prime suspect.

Dad's Preview: This unexpected comedy, loosely based on Hitchcock's Strangers on a Train (1951), combines a great plot with the superb acting talents of Billy Crystal and Danny DeVito. Owen, a simpleton who lives with his harshly controlling mother, watches the Hitchcock mystery. He decides to murder his writing teacher Larry's wife, in exchange for that same deed performed on his grumpy mom. The story should be incredibly dark, yet somehow, it plays quite light. The surprise was Ann Ramsey as Momma - the actress truly portrays a woman as unpleasant as humanly possible.

Larry Brezner; Orion Pictures