Review of Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (1982) by Tim S — 26 Feb 2009

If you're a film noir fan or just a spoof fan in general, then this movie is right up your alley. Steve Martin plays a P.I. who falls for a beautiful client, whose case turns out to be more dangerous and complicated than he expected.

Weaving together footage from 1940s film noir classics like Humoresque and Dark Victory incricately story-wise with the story that takes place in the film, it makes for a fun and inventive narrative with side-splitting laughs.

Martin gives a fantastic comedic performance in the movie (I think I'll be screaming "Cleaning Woman?!" days from now). Rachel Ward is also great as the dame and Carl Reiner is terrific, as always.

Shot in black and white, photographer Michael Chapman and production designer John De Cuir give this movie the classic style it needs, although it does suffer from some modern techniques of shooting, though I place no direct blame on the filmmakers because it is incredibly difficult to replicate 1940's film production and photography.

The editing is adequate, but sometimes the excerpts from classics like The Bribe, The Postman Always Rings Twice and The Killers don't always fit into the edit, causing it to feel a little jarred and jerky.

The movie moves along briskly, another fault of modern storytelling, but I couldn't tell how much they were actually trying to get in touch with that 1940's style, so I'll leave it alone. The score is fantastic.

You could swear Max Steiner had a hand in it because of how bravura and classic it sounds. I found myself laughing out loud several times and really enjoying and reveling in the movie and at other times trying not to watch it with a critical eye.

I'm sure it will please mostly film fans, but I urge people looking for laughs to check it out, as well.