Penn & Teller Get Killed
Penn & Teller Get Killed
R | 22 September 1989 (USA)
Penn & Teller Get Killed Trailers

The "bad boys of magic" go over the edge in this mind-blowing, role-switching comedy murder mystery set in the dizzying world of Atlantic City casinos. In a TV interview, Penn mentions his idea of a fun practical joke: "I wish someone were trying to kill me. It would give focus to my life, excitement. I'd be like James Bond." Twenty million people hear him. One decides to deliver a punchline he'll never forget. Made by people who thought Psycho was a comedy, Penn & Teller Get Killed (they also wrote the piece) features Caitlin Clarke as the femme fatale and David Patrick Kelly as the Edgar Allan Poe-esque nutcase with a new mission. Arthur Penn, known for hip masterpieces like Bonnie and Clyde, Alice's Restaurant and Little Big Man, directs with roller-coaster pacing and subversive intelligence.

Reviews
Bergorks

If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

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Lachlan Coulson

This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

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Philippa

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

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Kimball

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

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paulcannon

This movie was hilarious. The jokes were fast and strong, with several more subtle gags throughout the film. Many scenes had me laughing so hard I couldn't hear the movie.Unfortunately, the film is based on a very loose plot. It seems to be a movie for the sake of comedy; substance without point or meaning. While practical jokes are all fun and good, I don't see how they managed to base the entire movie on that shaky premise. Penn & Teller are not known for their storytelling, of course, so I suppose this issue can be forgiven.Also, I felt really weird with Teller started talking at the end of the film. It's a brilliant ending, but they having Teller actually speak was a little much.

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Marley

Penn and Teller Get Killed isn't what you'd call a triumph of skilled film-making. The primary function of the movie is to allow Penn and Teller to perform their routines and display their trademark style -- a style that has as much to do with their attitudes as it does their 'magic.' If you like them, you'll like the movie; if not, you probably won't.That said, the plot is interesting enough, and the film is not JUST a vehicle. The film itself really does reflect their twisted sensibility, and that may be its strongest point -- it's not just "Penn and Teller do some magic with a plot pasted on." It's really what you'd expect if someone allowed these two to make a movie. (The ending, in particular, is one of the strangest I've ever seen.) The film is perfectly Penn and Teller: it gets inside your head, twists things around, breaks some stuff, and leaves with a smile as you try and figure out what to do with the mess.

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jackrabbitslims-1

this movie has some interesting stunts that are pulled, but I kept asking myself during the duration of the film, Is Penn the guy who does the "next on Comedy Central" voice. Otherwise I could dig this movie, jay and silent bob seemed to rip it off a little bit.

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Rosabel

A movie no Penn & Teller fan would dream of being without. The first time I watched it, I was perplexed by the oddball atmosphere - this movie just doesn't play like a typical movie. Subsequent viewings have increased my fondness for it, though, and I keep finding more and more humour in it. So much of the humour comes from realizing that the jokes are not just inserted to make us laugh, but are the natural product of a very bizarre world that these two performers are inhabiting all the time. As Teller in a park catches pigeons with his bare hands, Penn says admiringly, "You're getting really good at that. You don't even hurt them anymore." Anymore? What has been going on between Teller and the pigeons all these years? The film is full of these little glimpses into a very weird world.

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