The Cheap Detective (1978)

Director: Robert Moore

Starring: Peter Falk and TONS of funny, funny people. Just watch the trailer.

More info: IMDB

Tagline: Who dunnit? This time it's Neil Simon who's really dunnit.

Plot: Lou Peckinpaugh, the Cheap detective has entered a world that is half Casablanca and half Maltese Falcon. A parody of Bogart's films in which Lou goes through a series of scenes from the two movies trying to keep ahead of the police who think he killed his partner and find the black bird.

My rating: 9/10

Will I watch it again? YYYYYYYESSSSSSSS!!!

This is without question one of the funniest movies I've ever seen. I can't bring myself to giving it a 10/10 until I see it again in case I was unknowingly hopped up on laughing gas the first time. I literally almost pissed myself with uncontrollable laughter. Seriously, there were like 3 drops of pee. Just watching the trailer brings up all those wonderful memories.

Watching this fullscreen DVD is painful as there's stuff going on off screen that you should see. Hell, you can tell in the trailer where James Coco is dead and Falk is off screen to the right getting laughs with his lines. It's a travesty. ***UPDATE*** WAIT! After getting all pissed while writing this I thought I'd check and see if there had been a widescreen version released somewhere. There is. I think I just felt a couple more drops of pee. I'm so stoked right now. I am so going to watch this the moment it touches my hands. OMFG!

I really can't get over how funny this is. Falk is ideal in the Bogart-esque role. The movie is a sendup of Bogart's MALTESE FALCON and CASABLANCA. Everyone in it is priceless. I've now added someone else who needs to have my babies...Eileen Brennan.

There's a scene where Eileen (I can call her that since she will soon be carrying my seed) sings a cabaret number in a smoke filled club, much like Madeline Kahn did in BLAZING SADDLES. Now since I was a kid back in the 70s I've had the hugest, unsurpassed crush on Kahn. She is, for me, without question the single funniest and attractive woman of the 20th century. On that short list you'll also find Carol Burnett and Teri Garr. After seeing Eileen do for this flick what Kahn did for BS, she's now number four on that list. WOW! She fucking nailed it. And I used to think no one could do what Kahn did and along comes Eileen. WOW! That just made me think about our soon-to-be insemination. (Did anyone get the 80s song reference? AHAHAHAHAHA). Ugh.

The laughs are non-stop, all the way to the end. I cannot wait to see it again and in widescreen. I'm going to hold off on screen caps until I get it. (I'm sooooo excited right now I'm grinning ear to ear!)