Where's Marlowe? (1998)

User Rating:

5.9/10   

Director:

Daniel Pyne

Writers:

John Mankiewicz (written by) &
Daniel Pyne (written by)

Genre:

Comedy | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

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

Plot:

After making a 3-hour fiasco about New York City's water supply, a two-man film crew decides to take...

Plot Keywords:

Dog | Private Investigator | Water | Water Supply | Female Nudity

Awards:

1 win

Cast

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

MPAA:

Rated R for language and a scene of sexuality.

Runtime:

Argentina:101 min | Germany:95 min | USA:97 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Australia:M | Iceland:L | Argentina:13 | Germany:12 | USA:R

Company:

Sandblast

Trivia:

Originally shot as a TV pilot for ABC. Two years after the original shoot, additional scenes were added to expand it to feature length.

Quotes:

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

Movie Connections:

References "Magnum, P.I." (1980)

Soundtrack:

Fidelio: Overture

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.