The Cheap Detective (1978)

It doesn't speak well for this movie that an hour after I saw it, I can barely remember what happened in it. Neil Simon's dialogue is best suited to real characters with real personalities... in spoof, it becomes oddly larger-than-life. This movie seems so determined to be funny that it forgets to actually BE funny. It attempts too many take-offs on specific movies, rather than overall cliches and stereotypes, and just leads to silliness. And not the good kind. More looks of disdain than laughs here. Very disappointing. 2 stars.