Ned Ravine is a police officer and lawyer who occasionally defends the delinquents he arrests. He crosses paths with seductive Lola Cain during an assignment and promptly begins an affair with her. Meanwhile, Ned's wife, Lana, is deep in an affair of her own. Lana and her lover are planning to murder Ned in an elaborate fashion so they can collect on his triple indemnity life insurance policy.
Writing
Puns so aggressively stupid they achieve transcendence.
Acting
Armand Assante playing straight man in a universe of nonsense.
Production
Every noir visual trope exaggerated to visual gag perfection.
Director
Carl Reiner
Armand Assante
Ned Ravine
Sherilyn Fenn
Laura Lincolnberry
Kate Nelligan
Lana Ravine
Sean Young
Lola Cain
Christopher McDonald
Frank Kelbo
James Remar
Max Shady
Tony Randall
Judge Skanky
Clarence Clemons
Clarence
Keith Campbell
Murder Investigator
Michael Cumpsty
Laura's Husband
Bob Uecker
Himself
Eartha Kitt
Trial Judge
Bill Cobbs
Man in Park
Kevin Michael Richardson
Bailiff
Bunny Summers
Train Passenger
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Carl Reiner made this the same year as his son Rob's A Few Good Men, meaning 1993 had competing Reiner courtroom dramas.
This bombed hard in '93 because audiences were exhausted by Naked Gun clones, but it's actually sharper than most—just buried by bad timing.
US
