good back-story, and good acting

It is not deep, but it is fun to watch. It does have a bit more of an edge to it than other similar films.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

"I don't know why you're not more fascinated by this! We could be living next to a murderer," Carol Lipton (Diane Keaton) emphasizes to her doubtful husband, Larry (Woody Allen). Larry isn't so convinced: "New York is a melting pot: I'm used to it!" When put in the situation of having a murderer live next door, there are two kinds of people: there are (1) the bored who decide their life could use a little fluffer, deciding to solve the mystery themselves, like a modern day Miss Marple, or (2) the fearful who figure it would be best to mind their own business and let karma stop by sometime in the future.Trouble is, Carol is of the first category, Larry of the second. She can't rest until she really knows what's going on; Larry, however, would rather go to work, come home for dinner at 5:00, stay up until the late hours of the evening to catch a forgotten classic on the classic movie channel, and continue the same routine for the rest of his life, spicing it up in safe ways when the occasion arises. But Carol has a mind of her own, and Larry, being played by Woody Allen (in which case meaning Allen is basically playing himself), is much too weak of a figure to stop her Nancy Drew madness.Who can blame her? Here's the situation: as the film opens, Larry and Carol bump into their aging neighbors, Mr. and Mrs. House (Jerry Adler and Lynn Cohen), who proceed to casually invite them up for coffee. The two are dull, but sweet: reaching old age, they have already purchased twin headstones, filling their days with blissful uneventfulness and hobbies like stamp collecting. Larry finds them pleasantly boring; the invitation was polite, sure, but neighbors are meant to be neighbors, not friends. Yet just as he's stating this sentiment to the kooky Carol, the unexpected happens with brute force. The following day, Mrs. House is announced dead. She had a heart condition.Larry is surprised but figures it to be another tragedy in the cruel game of life; Carol, on the other hand, is suspicious. Mrs. House never mentioned having a heart condition (strange considering she felt the need to discuss her hysterectomy only minutes into conversation). Mr. House must have murdered her. So she decides to do a little investigating herself, and, as it turns out, something is amiss. One point Carol, zero points Larry.These days, Woody Allen seems to travel back and forth between meaningful work and more passable fare. Critics flock to his old-age unevenness like a group of hungry vultures, but I've always enjoyed what he has to offer. When he's taking a break from changing the lives of his audience and having fun for a change, it's infectious (most of the time). "Manhattan Murder Mystery" is his finest, dare I say it, "lightweight" project. I could be biased, considering I watched the majority of his most famous films when I was too young to really understand their meaning, but over the years, "Manhattan Murder Mystery" has always stuck with me the most. Is it the contagiously humorous repartee between Allen and Keaton (in their first film together since 1979's "Manhattan"), the obvious homages to film noir(you can't beat "The Lady from Shanghai" playfulness of the ending) and Agatha Christie, the likable supporting performances from Alan Alda (the likable best friend type) and Anjelica Huston (the superiorly cool female figure), the New York setting? I can hardly decide, but Allen's deft combination of whodunit antics and absolutely hilarious exchanges makes every single thing about "Manhattan Murder Mystery" an unequivocal delight. And because he's realistic, of course he slides marital trouble and middle-aged discontent into the mix; it's the only way such an exciting story could exist in real life!With a luminous Keaton by his side, a truckload of his best lines ("Claustrophobia and a dead body - this is a neurotic's jackpot!"; "I can't listen to that much Wagner. I start to get the urge to conquer Poland."), and an unabashed sense of fun, "Manhattan Murder Mystery" is Allen at his best: confident, sensible, engaging, and uproarious.

I remember seeing "Manhattan Murder Mystery" in the theater back in 1993 and enjoying it (it's a great crowd movie); I saw it again today after about 20 years and it still holds up very well. It starts out as only mildly funny, but it gets progressively funnier, and can make you laugh out loud a number of times. The mystery plot is solid as well - this must be one of Woody Allen's strongest films plot-wise. And in the context of a lightweight comedy-murder mystery, Allen sneaks in an examination of a marital relationship, homages to some of his classic film favorites, and his profound love for New York. He also gives generous portions of the comedy to the other actors, Diane Keaton, Alan Alda, and Angelica Huston. As usual, Allen and Keaton make such a great team on the screen that you have to wonder why they haven't worked together again since 1993 - maybe even as the same characters from this film! *** out of 4.

Larry (Woody Allen) and Carol Lipton (Diane Keaton) are a middle age NYC couple. Their next door neighbors are an elderly couple Paul (Jerry Adler) and Lillian House (Lynn Cohen). When Lillian ends up dead, Carol is suspicious of Paul who is a little too perky. Their divorced friend Ted (Alan Alda) helps out causing a bit of jealousy from Larry. Marcia Fox (Anjelica Huston) is a card playing novelist and editor Larry tries to set her up with Ted.The gang is back for a little bit of a murder mystery. It has the fun chemistry of an older Woody and Diane pairing. Woody is his neurotic alter-ego. Diane's driven investigation is charming. They are still hilarious together. The pacing is a steady stream of nervous talking and I do wish that Woody breaks it up with something more intense. It does turn into more of a caper in the end. It's a fine movie for Woody fans.

Manhattan Murder Mystery is considered an important film in Woody Allen's long and illustrious cinematographic career as it is an exemplary proof of his faithfulness to Manhattan and people who live over there. As he knows both of them very well, more than a suspense thriller, his film appears as an acute observation of Manhattan people. The viewer is shown what Manhattan is and what type of people inhabit this area which has the reputation of being one of New York city's best known addresses. The film is replete with typically Woody Allen style humor which consists of short and witty remarks about people and their idiosyncrasies. For this reason, director Woody Allen created his own alter ego in the form of Larry Lipton, an intellectual editor who seems to be getting closer to a young woman as his wife is getting much too curious about a death which happened in their neighborhood. Emotional problems between husbands and wives occupy a good deal of screen space in Woody Allen's films. This is also the case with this film as its numerous subplots deal with the emotional turmoil of men and women. Lastly, there is something enigmatic about movie titles as there are times when viewers don't get to see much of what is described in the title. Judging from that yardstick, Manhattan Murder Mystery tries hard to cash on to that obsession and also succeeds. This is probably one reason why it enabled Woody Allen to show his cinematographic preferences in this film by including numerous important scenes from his favorite Hollywood films.