Rating: 
Summary: A Ruthless Comedy!
Review: It's about time that "Ruthless People" is finally out to own on DVD. I remember seeing this movie when I was really little, and I loved every minute. Now, almost 21 years old, I was able to get all of the little jokes that I didn't get when I was little. This is still a favorite, doesn't matter how old the movie is. "Ruthless People" is a laugh-riot that will leave you begging for more!Millionaire Sam Stone hates his wife. How much? Enough that he is prepared to kill her. But when he gets home and is ready to do the deed, his wife, Barbara, is nowhere to be found. Instead, he gets a phone call from kidnappers who threaten to kill her if he does not pay the ransom. So what does Sam do? He celebrates!!! The movie and plot gets twisted and funnier as the minutes roll by. The cast is terrific; including Danny DeVito, Judge Reinhold, Helen Slater, and Bette Midler. They are hillarious in this evil and twisting comedy. DeVito really steals the show and is absolutley hillarious. The DVD, I admit, is quite poor. There is litterally no special features at all. Picture is good, not great. But keep in mind, that this is an old movie. For it being such an old movie, the picture looks pretty good. Even though the DVD isn't the best, I don't care. I just wanted the movie, that's all. And that's what I got. Doesn't matter to me if there are special features or not on this one. "Ruthless People" is a cult classic and a terrific comedy that abandons the routine boring formula. It takes risks, it's well-written, and it is still one of the funniest movies out on the market today. Check this one out when you can.
Rating: 
Summary: Funny Movie
Review: Now one must know that anything with both Bette Midler and Danny DeVito will not only be a rather good movie but a funny one as well. THis movie is both of those as Bette continues her hit movie standing here. Bette again plays a rich wife who is kidnapped by some inept people. Once she discovers that her husband does not want to pay the paltry ransom, she combines forces with the kidnappers to turn the table on her husband and get the money. Judge Reinhold and Helen Slater are great as the kidnappers as they do a fine job. Bette once again steals the show with her red hair and fiery attitude. She is also very funny which helps the movie alot. Just a great movie from the 80s!!
Rating:
Summary: CULT CULT CULT
Review: Outstading movie and one of the best comedies ever. I mean, how many stupid scenes can you put in a movie? They are endless. In a way every character has something that makes them special to the viewer. Of course my favorite star is BETTE MIDLER. So many cult moments like these are impossible to imitate: right from the moment we (don't) see Bette in a potato bag kicking and screaming with the entrance of the VW van (personally the entrance itself makes me already laugh) and the two kidnappers hardly take her in the basement...where she falls right into. What happens next is so hilarious. When she escapes and is trapped in the kitchen is unbelievable, like a parody of the kitchen scene in 'Torn Curtain': how can you be any stupider than him? Using the tissue he just put chloroform on to ease the pain Bette justinflicted him with with a flying cup! . It's over the top. Also Incredibly stupid and funny is Anita Morris ("Have you seen THAT TAPE? ),, such misunderstadings are impossible. Another's when Danny DeVito, after receiving the tape, calls Morris at once and tells her he knows she sent it>>> YOU MUST WATCH IT! R Rating understandable, but isn't it a little bit ridiculous?
Rating:
Summary: She's a Modern Woman
Review: Over the period of a few years, 80s comedies reaches a Midler frenzy with: Down & Out in Beverly Hills, Outrageous Fortune, Big Business, and Ruthless People. They're all nutty and zany and entertaining. But this is the one that still holds up. It's got the Honorable Judge Reinhold, and the ridiculous Bill Pullman. Supergirl is a kidnapper. Danny DeVito plays, presumably, himself. And Bette gets to play victim and aggressor.
This movie's got ZAZ and, therefore, lot of laughs.
Oh, and also the principal from "Head of the Class" is in it, doing very naughty things.
Rating:
Summary: "Now THAT oughta do it!!!!"
Review: Right from the start, Ruthless People has several things going for it. First of all, the plot is ridiculously hilarious.
Sam Stone (Danny De Vito) is the disgruntled husband (De Vito is probably webster's example of a disgruntled person) of heiress Bette Midler. Sam has a nice stack of cash of his own, yet, like the greedy man he is, he wants more. And there is only one way to get it. Kill off his rich wife. He has it all planned out. Yet little does he know that someone out there will inadvertently do him a favor by kidnapping his wife and, if he won't pay off the ransom, they'll kill her for him. So all Sam has to do now is sit back and wait. There is only one problem. These kidnappers, while they claim to be "ruthless people", are really a couple of softies who, when they see a bug in their house, will scoop it up and place it gently outside the door. When they threaten to kill Mrs. Stone, they hardly mean what they say. Half the fun of watching this movie is seeing the scenes where Sam is on the phone with the kidnappers, seething because they are willing to give him chance after chance to get them the money, even after several stubborn refusals. This is the basic plot, with a bunch of twists added in to make it even more exciting. One particularly twisted subplot is the tension between Sam and his wife's dog (his step-dog?). He views the dog in the exact same way he views his wife; he wants it dead. He finally comes up with the perfect solution to the dog problem; he gets a bigger dog to come along and eat him (shows Stone's psychological state). A great line is where he is introducing the two canines. I think his wife's dog was named Muffy. "Muffy meet Adolph. Adolph, eat Muffy." Watch this movie to see if his plan works.
Bette Midler, Sam Stone's wife, is very funny in her role as hostage, and Judge Reinhold and Helen Slater are terrific as her captors. I think Bill Pullman is also in this movie. He is the husband, or lover, of Sam Stone's lover. It gets confusing.
The performances are the second thing this movie has going for it. But it is really Danny De Vito who ultimately makes this movie all it is.
I bought Ruthless People on VHS, however, I would suggest renting it first, of course. The only time I'll buy a movie without having seen it is if I like a particular actor in it or if it is really cheap. But it is a pretty safe bet that many of you out there will find this movie worth the time it takes to watch it, and definitely worth renting.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliantly Hilarious Satire
Review: Ruthless People is the perfect star vehicle for Bette Midler. Colorful, hilarious, and extremely dated, this is a sick, twisted, and enjoyable romp with an all-star cast and truly surprising results. It's masterful how all the characters interweave, creating more and more hilarious subplots. To say any more will ruin the fun; it has to be seen to be believed. This is an overlooked gem that has an intricate plotline supported by sharp jokes. They certainly don't make em like this anymore. This film deserves to be a modern classic.
Rating:
Summary: Ruthlessly Funny
Review: Sam Stone only married his wife, Barbara, for her money. Now he's anxious to get rid of her. Before he can do the deed, though, someone does him a huge favor by kidnapping her. What could be better? All he has to do is not pay the ransom and his problem is solved. Barbara's bungling kidnappers find themselves stuck with a worthless hostage. RUTHLESS PEOPLE is a very funny movie. It's well plotted, well acted and keeps you laughing all the way. While not quite a classic, it was one of the top comedies of the mid-80's and resurrected Bette Midler's movie career. My only caution is that this is definitely NOT a movie for kids. Crude language is scattered throughout and there is some blatantly sexual material. While it might offend a few people, it's pretty mild by current standards. You could see almost as much in a Super Bowl halftime show. I've liked RUTHLESS PEOPLE ever since I first saw it at the theater. It's a first-rate adult comedy. If you'd like some laughs, this is a good choice.
Rating:
Summary: A hilarious comedy classic
Review: She is Barbara Stone, a fat, loudmouthed, obnoxious, no-class Hollywood wife. He is Sam Stone, a pint-size slimeball who gets rich off stealing others' ideas. Only this time, he's stolen from the wrong person, a gentle housewife named Sandy Kessler, whose enraged husband, Ken, is about to fix the slimeball's wagon once and for all. How better than by kidnapping Sam's wife and holding her for ransom? Trouble is, Sam hates his wife because he's cavorting with his mistress Carol (who in turn is cheating on him with another man), and sees the kidnap threat as a heaven-sent way of getting rid of his wife. Send the ransom? You gotta be kidding. Why go through a messy divorce when you can be a bereaved widower with a fat bank account? Bette Midler is an absolute riot as Barbara Stone, trusting in her husband to deliver her from the kidnappers' benign clutches until she is brought up short when she finds out what a dirtbag he really is; Danny DeVito oozes sleaziness as her loathsome husband Sam, and Judge Reinhold and Helen Slater are a twin delight as the sorriest pair of kidnappers on the planet. The movie is a laugh riot from the crazy opening credits to the inspired ending. It's 80's comedy at its best.
Rating:
Summary: funniest movie ever made!
Review: Sure, it's hyperbole. But I love this movie. It cheers me up when I am depressed. I think it's funny even though I have watched it so many times I know the jokes by heart. The acting is great, the plotting excellent, the pacing unbeatable, and the jokes are very funny. What more can you want? I hope DVDs don't wear out!
Rating:
Summary: A hoot, but deserves R Rating
Review: The neat thing about this comedy is how it keeps weaving the characters back and forth, and how their follies and misunderstandings keep making things worse. Favorite lines: Bette Midler, who's been kidnapped: "Let me understand this: I'm being MARKED DOWN!?" And boob to cops: "Are you the the Police?" Chief:"No, we're the National Rifle Association!" There is also the rather cute idea that the way you make a spoiled character like Midler protrays lose weight is to chain her down,control her diet and get her to watch exercise shows.
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