Okay, I can be persuaded. And, truth be told, this was an entertaining film by writer/director Rian Johnson as he takes the old Agatha Christie plot of a murder with multiple suspects and turns it on its ear.
Indeed, as today's blog title suggests, this is less of a whodunit and more of a whydunit. You find out pretty early how mystery writer Christopher Plummer dies following a family party. Well, you think you know. It's more of a matter of finding how and why than who. There are lots of suspects but they get narrowed down pretty quickly.
But, then it's all about figuring out how it all fits together. And that is the one quibble I have with this otherwise enjoyable movie. It takes forever to unravel to the inevitable conclusion. Yes, knives play into the plot. But somebody should have taken a knive to the cutting room as "Knives Outs" begins to crawl towards an ungodly length of two hours and thirty minutes. Way too long for a comedy spoof of a genre that is always worthy of a parody.
There is good work all around here from the always welcome Jamie Lyn Curtis and Toni Collette. Plus somebody took the trouble to unearthing Don Johnson from the Miami Vice cemetery. Meanwhile, the star of this all is the unknown Ana De Armas who plays the character at the center of this mystery. And, frankly, any movie that employs Daniel Craig to play a Southern private detective is one film that shouldn't be enjoyed.
So, yes, "Knives Out" does merit your attention and time. Except it would be better if it merited your attention at a much shorter running time.
LEN'S RATING: Three-and-a-half stars.
Dinner last night: General Ching's chicken.
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