Where's Marlowe? (1998)

After making a 3-hour fiasco about New York City's water supply, a two-man film crew decides to take it up a notch by documenting life in the private investigator offices of "Boone and ... See full summary »

Director:

Daniel Pyne

Writers:

John Mankiewicz, Daniel Pyne

Stars:

Miguel Ferrer, John Livingston, Mos Def

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Miguel Ferrer	...	Joe Boone
John Livingston	...	A.J. Edison
Mos Def	...	Wilt Crawley
John Slattery	...	Kevin Murphy
Allison Dean	...	Angela
Clayton Rohner	...	Sonny 'Beep' Collins
Elizabeth Schofield	...	Monica Collins
Barbara Howard	...	Emma Huffington
Kirk Baltz	...	Rivers
Miguel Sandoval	...	Skip Pfeiffer
Brent Jennings	...	Funeral Director
Bill McKinney	...	Uncle Bill
Heather McComb	...	Trophy Wife
Wendy Crewson	...	Dr. Ninki Bregman
Joyce Guy	...	Wilt's Mom

Storyline

After making a 3-hour fiasco about New York City's water supply, a two-man film crew decides to take it up a notch by documenting life in the private investigator offices of "Boone and Murphy". Cheating husbands and missing dogs fail to bring in the big bucks however, and after sleeping with the wife of one of their clients Murphy leaves. To stop Boone from having to close down the business the two film-makers must resort to a hands-on approach in the investigations to ensure the completion of their movie.

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Plot Keywords:

dog | private investigator | water supply | water | mystery filmmaking | 

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Taglines:

A comedy about passion, murder and things that can only happen in the movies.

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Genres:

Comedy | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and a scene of sexuality

Details

Official Sites:

Paramount

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 October 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Marlowe-rejtély

Box Office

Budget:

$3,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$5,985 (USA) (12 November 1999)

Gross:

$5,985 (USA) (12 November 1999)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Sandblast, Weiten

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

John Slattery plays Miguel Ferrer's business partner. Slattery is married to Talia Balsam, whose ex-husband is Ferrer's cousin, George Clooney.

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Quotes

Kevin Murphy: It's been real.
Wilton Crawley: It's a documentary!

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Connections

References Deliverance (1972)

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Soundtracks

"All Blues"
Written by Miles Davis
Performed by Mos Def and John Livingston

User Reviews

for fans of "The Office" and "Spinal Tap"

It's an "8" for what it is, earning an extra point for being too original at the time. It's a mockumentary ala "Spinal Tap" and "Best in Show" which, frankly, are better, but this stands on its own. Following a second-rate private dick in LA, it jumps the "fourth wall", and incorporates the film crew, adding to the fun. One of the best things about it is its layers of droll that I suspect will not unfold until I see it again.

Having been weaned on Cristopher Guest's best (Tap, Waiting, Best, et al), and the TV hit "The Office", one thing this mockumentary has that it probably shouldn't have had... was a soundtrack. But, it was an ABC pilot order, and without any backup like a borrowed British TV success (The Office), that was unavoidable at the time. The soundtrack's not bad, but it does detract.

It's a fun attack on that line that separates Reality and the silly joke called life.