On this week’s ReelTalk, host R.L. Terry invites returning guest film critic Sean Boelman to join him to celebrate the Clue 40th anniversary!

1985’s CLUE is one of the most brilliantly bonkers comedies ever put to film. The all-star cinematic farce took a simple board game and spun it into a madcap symphony of wit, absurdity, and razor-sharp timing.

But CLUE wasn’t always the beloved cult classic it is today. In 1985, it was a box office flop. Audiences didn’t quite know what to do with a movie that offered three different endings—each shown in different theaters. A marketing gamble? Absolutely. Ahead of its time? Without question. But that creative swing, that willingness to break the rules, is part of what makes CLUE such a comedic treasure. It’s a movie built on the joy of surprise, the pleasure of misdirection, and the absolute commitment of a cast who understood that the only way through the chaos was to sprint full-speed into it.

And what a cast. This is an ensemble where every performer fires on all cylinders—Madeline Kahn, Tim Curry, Eileen Brennan, Michael McKean, Christopher Lloyd… the list goes on. These actors weren’t just funny; they were fearless. Their delivery is so airtight, so exquisitely timed, that the film still feels fresh forty years later.

Who could forget the Singing Telegram Girl’s abrupt entrance—and even more abrupt exit—or Madeline Kahn’s volcanic ad-lib, “Flames, fl–fl–flames… on the side of my face,” which remains one of the greatest comedic line deliveries in cinema history?!?

Forty years later, CLUE endures because it’s a rare combination of comedic precision, narrative playfulness, and sheer audacity. It knew exactly what it was, even if the box office didn’t.