Ruthless People (1986)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Jens S

  
  While not as entirely crazy and hilarious as their Naked Gun films, this comedy by the Zucker, Abrahams, Zucker team still shows some trademarks of the same kind of humor: wonderfully ditsy main characters, fights with kitchen utensils and plenty of mix-ups. While Frank Drebin's… More
  While not as entirely crazy and hilarious as their Naked Gun films, this comedy by the Zucker, Abrahams, Zucker team still shows some trademarks of the same kind of humor: wonderfully ditsy main characters, fights with kitchen utensils and plenty of mix-ups. While Frank Drebin's adventures are more like a 90 minute collection of gags, the plot here is actually quite smart and make use of all of its characters and the chaos that entails. Bette Midler is particularly funny and outshine her two kidnappers easily. The clever solution to the entire confusion is also quite clever. Soundtrack and look of the film make it a perfect example of the 80s comedy that may not have aged well but still have that particular charm and the jokes still work years later.

• Jacob E

  
  This is THE ultimate film of misunderstandings. Every plan in this film goes wrong, and in an absolutely spectacular fashion. The plot for this one is dark and hilarious, making Danny DeVito one of the most loathsome (but funny) characters in film history. What makes this so… More
  This is THE ultimate film of misunderstandings. Every plan in this film goes wrong, and in an absolutely spectacular fashion. The plot for this one is dark and hilarious, making Danny DeVito one of the most loathsome (but funny) characters in film history. What makes this so surprising is that it's a Touchstone film, which means it was funded by Disney. What's unsurprising is why it's funny. It was made by the "Airplane" team, Jim Abraham, David Zucker, and Jerry Zucker, which means it's going to be decently funny no matter what. This is absolutely awesome instead of just decently funny. It's very crude at certain points, but I was too busy laughing to care. One of the best con comedies of the 80s.

• Thomas B

  
  Hilarious from start to finish. Full review later.

• moon r

  
  Lighthearted 80's romp about the small mean places in some versus the great wide open of others, and how each side secretly, insanely envies the other. Zany fun.

• AJ V

  
  An hilarious comedy with a great cast and story. I loved this movie.

• Tony G

  
  "Ruthless People" is a farce directed by David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker, best known for the "Airplane!" and "Naked Gun" comedies and the comedy trio fill almost every scene with laughs. A couple (Judge Reinhold and Helen Slater) cheated by… More
  "Ruthless People" is a farce directed by David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker, best known for the "Airplane!" and "Naked Gun" comedies and the comedy trio fill almost every scene with laughs. A couple (Judge Reinhold and Helen Slater) cheated by a vile businessman (Danny DeVito) decide to kidnap his wife (Bette Midler) and ask for ransom but the businessman, who was planning to kill his wife anyway, refuses to pay. "Ruthless" owes less to "Dr Strangelove", the granddaddy of dark comedies than it does to the 80s as a decade as it would not have worked without the decade's "greed is good" mindset and color blocked fashion sense. But Midler and DeVito's committed performances are the film's high points. Midler delivers the best line "I've been kidnapped by Kmart" and she nails it - it's both hilarious and heartbreaking. DeVito does wicked glee better than anyone and "Ruthless" is a perfect vehicle for him. Dark comedies don't come any better than "Ruthless People" a smart mix between wicked and wacky that takes full advantage of the vast comedic gifts of its actors

• Tim S

  
  Funny. Mediocre, but funny.

• Cassandra M

  
  This is one film that can always raise a smile with me. Even now, after all these years, it's still an outrageous, engaging, thoroughly nasty comedy that leaves me in fits of giggles. It has dated quite badly (just check out Sam's house, my god!), but the plot is still as… More
  This is one film that can always raise a smile with me. Even now, after all these years, it's still an outrageous, engaging, thoroughly nasty comedy that leaves me in fits of giggles. It has dated quite badly (just check out Sam's house, my god!), but the plot is still as fresh as ever. I love the way it twists so many times, you never know what's going to happen next or who's going to do what. Movies like this can be addictive, and Ruthless People is no exception. Danny DeVito and Bette Midler are fabulous as Sam and Barbara Stone, DeVito doing his evil little man routine with ease and Midler at her usual best. Judge Reinhold and Helen Slater's characters are probably the most unexciting of the bunch, but they bring an endearing quality to Ken and Sandy that make them watchable. Anita Morris and Bill Pullman round out the cast as man-eater Carol and dense Earl (`This could very well be the stupidest man on the face of the Earth', classic!). Ruthless People is unique in that all the characters are quite vulgar and awful, and shouldn't really be all that likeable. But, in a very strange way, they are. It brings out the venomous, and indeed ruthless, side of you as you're rooting for the characters to succeed in their dubious aims. The film ends as it should, and after 90 minutes or so have passed, you realise that you've been laughing non-stop and that this is a comedy to savour. I enjoyed every minute of Ruthless People and I defy anyone to not laugh consistently through this. Genius.

• Anthony L

  
  Some of the greatest movies ever came from the 80's. Some of the worst movies ever came from the 80's. This is one of the bad ones. Bette Midler, ugh!

• Candy R

  
  Funny movie about a rich man's wife who is kidnapped but he doesn't want to pay the ransom money to get her back! The wife then teams up with her kidnappers to fleece her husband. Great cast.

• xGary X

  
  Back in the 80s, studios were bizarrely convinced of Bette Midler's star power...this is probably the least offensive of her offerings, a mildly amusing caper movie in which an amusingly hateful and spoilt Midler is kidnapped by a goody two shoes couple, only to find her spiteful… More
  Back in the 80s, studios were bizarrely convinced of Bette Midler's star power...this is probably the least offensive of her offerings, a mildly amusing caper movie in which an amusingly hateful and spoilt Midler is kidnapped by a goody two shoes couple, only to find her spiteful husband Danny DeVito unsurprisingly doesn't want her back. Not too bad actually.

• Danny R

  
  A wonderfully hilarious mid 80s caper comedy that became a monster box-office hit from the creators of "Airplane," it concerns a loathsome millionaire named Sam Stone, played by Danny DeVito in a comic tour-de-force performance who is planning to murder his spoilled ever… More
  A wonderfully hilarious mid 80s caper comedy that became a monster box-office hit from the creators of "Airplane," it concerns a loathsome millionaire named Sam Stone, played by Danny DeVito in a comic tour-de-force performance who is planning to murder his spoilled ever richer wife Barbara, played to the hilt by Bette Milder who an absolute laugh riot, so he can take up with his mistress Carol, well played by sexy Anita Morris, but before Sam can kill Barbara, he comes home to find that she has been abducted by two hapless kidnapers Ken & Sandy Kessler, marvelously played by Judge Reinhold and Helen Slater, who bring a sweet endearing quality to their characterizations of the impoverished couple that are trying to get back at Sam for stealing Sandy's design for spandex miniskirts that made him a millionaire, Ken calls Sam and demands $500,000 for the return of his wife or she will be killed, Sam who hates his wife was passion refuses to pay for her release, in the hopes that the kidnappers will kill her and save him the trouble of doing it himself, Sam keeps refusing to pay, as Ken repeatedly calls him again and again, in the meantime Barbara has made Ken & Sandy's life a living hell with her repeated escape attempts and her none stop bitching & whining. Splendid supporting performances by Art Evans, J.E. Freeman, William G. Schilling, and Bill Pullman in his film-debut is very funny as Anita Morris's dim-witted boy-toy lover, the terrific co-direction by Jim Abrahams, David Zucker and Jerry Zucker is inspired, and they give this film twists and triple-twists that not only surprising but keep us laughing throughout the hold movie. A side-splitting farce that is a true crowd pleaser. Highly Recommended.

• Deb S

  
  Judge Reinhold and Helen Slater play a desperate young couple who kidnap heiress Barbara Stone (Bette Midler) who's married to billionaire Sam Stone (Danny Devito). You'd think that Sam would be heartbroken, but no, he's so happy he celebrates with a bottle of champagne… More
  Judge Reinhold and Helen Slater play a desperate young couple who kidnap heiress Barbara Stone (Bette Midler) who's married to billionaire Sam Stone (Danny Devito). You'd think that Sam would be heartbroken, but no, he's so happy he celebrates with a bottle of champagne because Sam has no interest in getting his wife back. In fact, the kidnapping was a big relief since he wanted to kill her to be with his mistress Carol (played beautifully by Anita Morris) who just so happens to be dating Bill Pullman on the sly. There are many hilarious scenes and just enough twists and turns to satisfy a discerning mystery fan, assuming that he can stop laughing long enough to follow the plot.

• Alec B

  
  One of the lesser talked about Zucker/Zucker/ Abrahams comedies of the 80s, which is unfair because it is a very funny movie. I love the concept, A man plans to kill his wife, only to discover she's been kidnapped. He then does everything the kiddnappers say not to in order to… More
  One of the lesser talked about Zucker/Zucker/ Abrahams comedies of the 80s, which is unfair because it is a very funny movie. I love the concept, A man plans to kill his wife, only to discover she's been kidnapped. He then does everything the kiddnappers say not to in order to ensure his wife's demise. Danny DeVito is the best out of a pretty good cast, he manages to make his asshole character sympathetic which is very hard to do. It's not perfect (The ending isn't as strong as it could have been) but there are some very funny moments. Oh yeah and I loved DeVito's mansion in this, possibly the most 80s interior decorating on record.

• Sunil J

  
  Bette Midler discovers that her sleezy husband doesn't want her back after she gets kidnapped and becomes set on getting revenge. A pretty funny movie.

• Christopher B

  
  Hilarious. Pullman's great and so is the rest of the cast playing the scum of the earth.

• Barry L

  
  I absolutely love this film. Deviton and midler play the greatest married couple ever. Really great movie.

Read all 17 featured audience ratings