Rating: 
Summary: John Watson - The Crime Doctor
Review: What if Watson was the real detective and Holmes was but a boob of a hired actor? This unconventional telling of the Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson relationship is priceless. Michael Caine is superb, but it's Ben (Gandhi) Kingley who underlines the comedy with his looks of frustration in the face of being overshadowed by his fictional creation. The lavish turn of the century sets and costuming only add to the mix. For those who prefer their humor more cerebral than the Airplane/Naked Gun movies.
Rating: 
Summary: "I've got it! His real name is Arty-Morti!"
Review: Without a Clue (1988) poses an interesting and humorous take on the Sherlock Holmes mythos created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The film asks what if the character of Sherlock Holmes was truly a fictional character created by Doctor Watson, and is played by an actor, with Watson being the actual mastermind behind solving the various cases and crimes?In the film, Ben Kingsley plays Doctor Watson, the man behind the deductive and crime solving skills of his fictional character, Sherlock Holmes. For reasons that are revealed within the movie, Watson was not able to take credit for solving his first caper, so he invented the character of Sherlock Holmes, but soon found his creation was in great demand, so he hired an actor, Reginald Kincaid (Michael Caine) to play the part of the detective while Watson stayed in the background continuing to be the 'brains' of the operation. Only problem is Reginald Kincaid is a buffoonish, womanizing, gambling, drunkard, and unable to, as he put it, '...detect horse manure if he stepped in it.' After a falling out, Doctor Watson fires Kincaid, and decides to go it alone as 'The Crime Doctor'. Guess what? The legend of Holmes has grown so large and become ensconced so deeply within the public psyche that no one takes Watson seriously, and even his publisher threatens to sue if Watson reveals the truth of the situation publicly. Not only that, but a rather important case involving the financial integrity of the British Empire has surfaced, one involving the nefarious Professor Moriarty, and Holmes is the only man for the job. Watson finds himself in the humbling position of bringing Kincaid back for what will be one last performance. Kingsley and Caine play their parts perfectly, and are supported by a wonderful cast including Jeffery Jones as Inspector Lestrade, Paul Freeman as Moriarty, Lysette Anthony, and Peter Cook. The dialogue is witty, and even though the plot a bit thin in some areas, the film works wonderfully as a farcical tale with just the right amounts of slapstick and tongue in cheek humor. A completely professional job done by everyone all around. My favorite part of the film was the notion of Watson using Holmes to keep Inspector Lastrade busy tracking down pointless leads while Watson performed the real detection at the crime scene. I was laughing hard when Holmes was on all fours inspecting the pattern of a rug with the baffled inspector right next to him, trying to get the jump on the master detective. I was a little disappointed in the release of this film on DVD, as I thought the picture and sound quality could have been better. Also, why is there only a full screen release available? Special features are virtually non-existent with the inclusion of a trailer for the film. MGM usually does a pretty good job with their releases, but they seemed to have dropped the ball here. Anyway, this is a great little film, and worth watching if only to see two fine actors at work Cookieman108
Rating:
Summary: "I've got it! His real name is Arty-Morti!"
Review: Without a Clue (1988) poses an interesting and humorous take on the Sherlock Holmes mythos created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The film asks what if the character of Sherlock Holmes was truly a fictional character created by Doctor Watson, and is played by an actor, with Watson being the actual mastermind behind solving the various cases and crimes? In the film, Ben Kingsley plays Doctor Watson, the man behind the deductive and crime solving skills of his fictional character, Sherlock Holmes. For reasons that are revealed within the movie, Watson was not able to take credit for solving his first caper, so he invented the character of Sherlock Holmes, but soon found his creation was in great demand, so he hired an actor, Reginald Kincaid (Michael Caine) to play the part of the detective while Watson stayed in the background continuing to be the 'brains' of the operation. Only problem is Reginald Kincaid is a buffoonish, womanizing, gambling, drunkard, and unable to, as he put it, '...detect horse manure if he stepped in it.' After a falling out, Doctor Watson fires Kincaid, and decides to go it alone as 'The Crime Doctor'. Guess what? The legend of Holmes has grown so large and become ensconced so deeply within the public psyche that no one takes Watson seriously, and even his publisher threatens to sue if Watson reveals the truth of the situation publicly. Not only that, but a rather important case involving the financial integrity of the British Empire has surfaced, one involving the nefarious Professor Moriarty, and Holmes is the only man for the job. Watson finds himself in the humbling position of bringing Kincaid back for what will be one last performance. Kingsley and Caine play their parts perfectly, and are supported by a wonderful cast including Jeffery Jones as Inspector Lestrade, Paul Freeman as Moriarty, Lysette Anthony, and Peter Cook. The dialogue is witty, and even though the plot a bit thin in some areas, the film works wonderfully as a farcical tale with just the right amounts of slapstick and tongue in cheek humor. A completely professional job done by everyone all around. My favorite part of the film was the notion of Watson using Holmes to keep Inspector Lastrade busy tracking down pointless leads while Watson performed the real detection at the crime scene. I was laughing hard when Holmes was on all fours inspecting the pattern of a rug with the baffled inspector right next to him, trying to get the jump on the master detective. I was a little disappointed in the release of this film on DVD, as I thought the picture and sound quality could have been better. Also, why is there only a full screen release available? Special features are virtually non-existent with the inclusion of a trailer for the film. MGM usually does a pretty good job with their releases, but they seemed to have dropped the ball here. Anyway, this is a great little film, and worth watching if only to see two fine actors at work Cookieman108
Rating:
Summary: A "Sherlock Holmes" Movie With a Twist
Review: You don't have to be an avid reader of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories to enjoy "Without a Clue". If you are at all familiar with this legendary character, you will most likely enjoy this fun, tongue-in-cheek look at what it would be like if Holmes was actually the apprentice of Watson. Michael Caine plays the role of a down-on-his luck actor who is hired by Dr. Watson (Ben Kingsley) to play the role of the greatest Detective the world has ever seen (Sherlock Holmes). The only trouble is, "Holmes" can't seem to stop his drinking, gambling, and womanizing; nor does he have a shred of deductive reasoning skills. The story is clever and original, and the performances are fabulous. Michael Caine plays the loveable doofus to perfection and Ben Kingsley wonderfully displays Watson's constant frustrations at Caine's ineptness. The movie is fun, good natured, and genuinely funny. It's a shame it wasn't well received by audiences when it was released in 1988 (I actually remember seeing it in the theater). I would highly recommend this movie.
Rating:
Summary: A "Sherlock Holmes" Movie With a Twist
Review: You don't have to be an avid reader of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories to enjoy "Without a Clue". If you are at all familiar with this legendary character, you will most likely enjoy this fun, tongue-in-cheek look at what it would be like if Holmes was actually the apprentice of Watson. Michael Caine plays the role of a down-on-his luck actor who is hired by Dr. Watson (Ben Kingsley) to play the role of the greatest Detective the world has ever seen (Sherlock Holmes). The only trouble is, "Holmes" can't seem to stop his drinking, gambling, and womanizing; nor does he have a shred of deductive reasoning skills. The story is clever and original, and the performances are fabulous. Michael Caine plays the loveable doofus to perfection and Ben Kingsley wonderfully displays Watson's constant frustrations at Caine's ineptness. The movie is fun, good natured, and genuinely funny. It's a shame it wasn't well received by audiences when it was released in 1988 (I actually remember seeing it in the theater). I would highly recommend this movie.
Rating:
Summary: Ben Kingsley does comedy
Review: You might think of Ben Kingsley wearing a diaper as Gandhi, or as a villain in various roles (playing Meyer Lansky in _Bugsy_, Cosmo in _Sneakers_ or as the frightening Don Logan in _Sexy Beast_) but Kingsley can also do comedy, as proven by this film. The central conceit of this film is that John H. Watson, M.D. of the Sherlock Holmes stories was actually the detecting genius and that Sherlock Holmes was a fictional creation. Later Watson was forced to hire a drunken actor (played to perfection by Michael Caine) to fill out the role of Holmes for a public that would not accept the talents of "John Watson, the Crime Doctor". The chemisty between Kingsley, playing the tightly wound John Watson, fed up with the fact that his creation has taken center stage and that no one will believe in his talents, and Caine, as the buffoonish actor, receiving the adulation that rightly belongs to Watson is fantastic, as witness the scene where Holmes is recounting the curious case of the Manchurian Mambo ("It was a night like any other, when suddenly a knock came at the door. I opened it and there were these Manchurians, doing a rather festive Caribbean dance...").
The only reason I'm giving this DVD four stars and not five is because it is a panned and scanned print of the original movie and pan and scan sucks. Even so this is still worth seeing.
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