Comedies that riff on Sherlock Holmes tend to not fare very well, and I wonder why that is.  And this is coming from somebody who found even a few crumbs of merit in the largely dire The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes’ Smarter Brother.  Never mind the Cook and Moore abomination that is their 1978 adaptation of The Hound of the Baskervilles.

And so, I went into 1988’s Without a Clue with some trepidation.  If there is one element of this which immediately sets it apart from other such films, and provides much of the humor, it is Watson (Ben Kingley) being the true brains of the operation, while using a bad actor (Michael Caine) to be Holmes. 

I’m not sure why Kingsley felt this subterfuge was necessary, but Caine’s gaffes make for most of the best lines and laughs.  Kingsley has to reprimand the allegedly brilliant detective for such statements as a victim having been bludgeoned “with a blunt excrement”.  Caine is holding court in a bar at one point when Kingsley interrupts to tell him he is confusing “mamba” with “mambo”. Caine simply changes his story to: “I opened the door and there were these Manchurians doing a rather festive Carribean dance.”

Eventually tiring of Caine’s antics and ineptitude, Kingsley tries to go solo, except he discovers nobody is interested in engaging the services of the man who is regarded as merely Holmes’s assistant.  He can’t get into crime scenes, even when it was Caine who been regularly insulting Scotland Yard’s Inspector Lestrade (Jeffrey Jones) with such comments as “That’s high praise, coming from a workmanlike detective like yourself.”  And The Strand is definitely not interested in the adventures of Watson sans Holmes.

At least Moriarty (Paul Freeman) knows who is the real brains behind the operation.  It is a relief to Caine when Kingsley reveals he himself is the subject of an attempted assassination: “Don’t worry, he knows you’re an idiot.”

Freeman has masterminded the theft of the plates to print five-pound notes.  I like the bit where Caine is convinced by the police to help solve the case and he insists on being paid in ten-pound notes, proving he’s not as stupid as Kingsley thinks he is.  There’s an exchange between the Caine and Kingsley I liked concerning the forged notes: “I found a five-pound note in the river.”  “Good for you.”  “But it’s only half printed.”  “Then I guess it’s only worth 2 pounds 10 then.”

There’s a solid cast here and they are enjoyable to watch interact, even at times where there isn’t much happening.  Kingsley is especially interesting to observe, as his suppressed irritation has a thousand degrees of subtlety.  It is amazing what a versatile actor he is, that he could also portray such a terrifying character later in Sexy Beast.

Without a Clue is a trifle, but an enjoyable one.  Many parodies of the Holmes trope try to make themselves as daft as possible, as if the only approach to intelligent material is to be the polar opposite.  This one is mildly witty, without trying to be excessively clever.  This is the kind of picture that will have Caine seemingly playing the violin, only for it to be revealed he his miming to an instructional record.  I’d far rather have many gags such as that instead of an endless string of fart jokes.

Dir: Thom Eberhardt

Starring Michael Caine, Ben Kingsley, Jeffrey Jones

Watched on Olive Films blu-ray