Film

Throw Momma from the Train

Name: Throw Momma from the Train
Genre: Comedy, Crime, Thriller
Released: 1987
Cast: Danny DeVito, Billy Crystal, Kim Greist, Anne Ramsey, Kate Mulgrew

A darkly comic thriller about a frustrated writing teacher and his unhinged student who dream up a murder swap inspired by Hitchcock. Danny DeVito and Billy Crystal play off each other beautifully in this clever, macabre romp that mines laugh-out-loud comedy from genuinely twisted plotting. Perfect if you want to giggle at something genuinely sinister.

TMDb rating

3.1

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you enjoy dark comedy where a bleak premise is played for sharp, mean-spirited laughs, and you like crime plots that are openly fond of their own cleverness.

Skip it if you want a tense thriller that stays tense; this one keeps undercutting its suspense with broad, cartoonish comedy, and the tone can feel scattershot.

What it asks of you: Under ninety minutes of brisk, talky scheming, with the darkness delivered through dialogue and deadpan rather than long stretches of quiet dread.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Strangers on a Train1951

Hitchcock's source material: two strangers meet and discuss swapping murders. It's the template this film lovingly riffs on—taut, psychologically intricate, and endlessly quotable. Essential viewing.

But Black and white 1950s cinema moves slower than modern thrillers, and the pacing will feel deliberate rather than propulsive if you're impatient.

Eating Raoul1982

Another pitch-black comedy about murder that arrived the same year. A repressed couple kills for sport and profit. It shares that rare tone: genuinely funny and genuinely dark, with no apology for either.

But The humour is extremely dry and the pacing is deliberately flat. It rewards patience but won't work if you need a comedy to move fast.

A Fish Called Wanda1988

Crime caper comedy with brilliant ensemble cast playing against type. Sharp dialogue, genuine stakes, and the kind of character comedy where everyone's desperation is hilarious. Released right after and cut from similar cloth.

But If slapstick and sexual farce aren't your speed, the broader comedic moments might feel dated or overdone.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Throw Momma from the Train

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

The Ladykillers1955

Both films use the premise of ordinary people planning elaborate crimes for dark laughs, but Ealing does it with British politeness and careful construction—the inverse register of DeVito's manic energy.

A gang of criminals poses as musicians to rent a room above a bank they plan to rob. Ealing comedy at its finest: plot-driven, character-rich, and funny without ever winking at the audience. Utterly charming while describing terrible things.

But It's British, it's old, and the humour lives in behaviour and situation rather than jokes. Modern audiences sometimes find it slow and oblique.

The In-Laws1979

Peter Falk and Alan Arkin in a spy caper that's equally committed to absurdist comedy and genuine thriller mechanics. Proof that these genres married well before 1987. Incredibly fun.

But The plot is frankly nonsensical if you examine it. If you need logic, the seams will show and bother you.

After Hours1985

Scorsese's kinetic nightmare-comedy about an ordinary man trapped in surreal downtown New York. Dark, absurd, weirdly menacing. It plays the same game: make you laugh at genuinely uncomfortable situations.

But Relentlessly grim underneath the jokes. It's funny but also suffocating, and some viewers find it anxiety-inducing rather than entertaining.

Something Wild1986

Jeff Daniels and Melanie Griffith in a date gone beautifully wrong. Starts as screwball comedy, pivots into genuine threat. Tonal whiplash executed perfectly—exactly what Momma does.

But The tonal shifts might feel jarring rather than clever. Some scenes veer into genuinely uncomfortable territory that comedy can't quite smooth over.

The Producers1968

Mel Brooks and Zero Mostel as con artists producing a deliberately bad musical. Anarchic, clever comedy about failure and desperation. The spiritual ancestor of everything this film does.

But The humour is very theatrical and broad. If you find Mel Brooks exhausting, this will amplify that rather than subvert it.

Heathers1989

High school dark comedy about murder and popularity. Black as pitch, genuinely funny, genuinely disturbing. Winona Ryder and Christian Slater in a film that doesn't flinch from its own darkness.

But It's genuinely cruel in places. The jokes land hardest at the expense of vulnerable people, which some viewers find more uncomfortable than funny.

Clue1985

A board game becomes a murder mystery farce. It commits completely to the bit, with multiple endings, sharp ensemble chemistry, and the kind of joke density that rewards repeat viewings.

But The plot is deliberately convoluted and the pacing is hectic. If you like narrative clarity or slower comedy, it will feel exhausting.

In Bruges2008

McDonagh takes the murder-buddy plot and adds genuine soul. Where Momma is clever and kinetic, this is meditative and broken—same skeleton, completely different heartbeat.

Two hitmen hide in a medieval city after a job goes wrong. Structurally it's Momma's plot—criminals discussing, planning, caught in escalating absurdity—but it's written by someone who believes in beauty alongside darkness. Quotable, devastating, and often hilarious.

But It's slow, melancholic, and demands emotional investment. The violence isn't cartoonish, and the comedy emerges from tragedy in ways that can feel manipulative or precious.