Danny DeVito in the kind of role he does best: a lying, cheating, stealing scoundrel trying to bump off his shrewish wife...and devilishly delighted when a naive couple whom he's victimized kidnap her for ransom he never intends to pay. Loose rendering of O. Henry's story "The Ransom of Red Chief" by screenwriter Dale Launer is all set-up, no pay-off. The talented trio of directors (Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, and Jerry Zucker) give Bette Midler a great deal of elbow-room to comically cuss and fuss, but no one behind the scenes was apparently able to come up with a satisfactory conclusion. "Ruthless People" is all over the place: screwball nonsense, black comedy, slapstick, warmhearted sentiment. It treats the audience like juveniles who need to be buzzed every few minutes to keep their attention. The cast is bright, and a few of the one-liners are memorable, yet overall the film is pretty thin. ** from ****
Review of Ruthless People
