Ruthless People is a mid 80s black comedy that is a bit of a hidden gem in my humble opinion. I would say that if you liked stuff such as War of the Roses, chances are you will have some fun with this. Recently, I watched this for the first time in what must be the better part of 20 years and I found it to be a lot of fun and just as good as I remembered it being.
How to Download Ruthless People
Ruthless People was released on June 27, 1986. You can download or stream the film from a digital platform. Click on the Download button at the end of this review and make your choice.
The Movie Review
Do not get me wrong, Ruthless People is not some kind of cinematic masterpiece. However, if you are in the mood for something fun from the 80s and want something that is not one of the “classics” you can do a lot worse than this. A neat little bit of trivia about this movie is that the all-star cast features Bill Pullman in what would be his feature movie debut so that is pretty cool.
We have a married couple in Sam and Barbara Stone, played by Danny DeVito and Bette Midler, but they are anything but happy. Sam wants to murder Bette so he can collect the millions of dollars she is worth and run away with his mistress, Carol. He has a plan to do this, but things take an opportunistic turn.
A Kidnapping Gone Wrong
You see, a young couple, Ken and Sandy Kessler (played by Judge Reinhold – check him out in Beverly Hills Cop and Helen Slater – see her in The Secret of My Success) have kidnapped Bette and plan to hold her for ransom. The Kessler’s were screwed over by Sam and they see this as a way of getting revenge and the money they have lost. The trouble is, Sam does not want Bette back and when the Kessler’s threaten to kill Bette if the ransom is not met, Sam is delighted and decides to leave them to it.
The thing is, this was not a real kidnapping. Ken and Sandy are actually good people and this thing just gets way out of hand. They never wanted to hurt anyone and ended up way over their heads. Oh, there are more twists than that. Turns out that Carol, Sam’s mistress is not what she seems and Bette and Sandy end up becoming friends.
A Fun and Over-the-Top Comedy
What I love about Ruthless People is that there is so much going on and it just goes from one extreme to the next. It is completely over the top and ridiculous, but that is where the fun in the movie comes from. The cast all do a wonderful job and nail their performances and it is a ton of fun to see Danny DeVito in a more mean-spirited role than we are used to.
This is a fun comedy that does not take itself too seriously and I always feel like you can tell the cast was having a lot of fun. It is not the kind of movie that will blow you away, but for a fun movie to watch while you chow down on snacks and turn your brain off, it is perfect. If you have never seen this one, give it a try, it is honestly a real hidden gem from the 80s.
