Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid

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Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid

PG

1982

1h 29m

Comedy

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

77%

Tomatometer

26 Reviews

72%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

When a famous cheese maker dies in a freak car crash, his daughter (Rachel Ward) is convinced that it was no accident. She thinks he was murdered for his top-secret cheese recipes. To prove her theory, she hires detective Roy Reardon (Steve Martin). His quest to find out what happened to the missing man brings him face-to-face with movie legends, actors such as Humphrey Bogart, Alan Ladd and Burt Lancaster, via footage from classic film noir and crime films.

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Critics Consensus

Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid is more eleaborate pastiche than uproarious comedy, but the farce works thanks to the sly lampooning of Hollywood noir and Steve Martin's performance as a goofy gumshoe.

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Bob Thomas

Associated Press

The novelty value wears thin, and attention wanders as the plot turns grow more obscure. But there are enough outrageous gags to please the faithful.

Nov 12, 2018

Full Review

Peter Stack

San Francisco Examiner

Although the gimmick wears thin, the production holds up remarkably well because Martin delivers the funny goods with wry ease.

Rated: 3/4

Nov 11, 2021

Full Review

Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

What should have been a godsend for anyone who worships film noir (raising my hand here) proves instead to be a crushing disappointment.

Rated: 2/4

Sep 24, 2021

Full Review

Diego Galán

El Pais (Spain)

The absence of novelty is compensated by its original development. [Full Review in Spanish]

Aug 27, 2019

Full Review

Fernando F. Croce

CinePassion

A parlor trick, but the kind -- an inquiring jester making his way through the ghosts of cinema's past -- that gets Godard at the Moviola to layer Histoire(s) together

Sep 6, 2009

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Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Rated: 2/5

Jun 15, 2005

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Kyle M

Minus the careless plotting with a faltering screenplay that would sometimes rely on laughable deliverance, it’s an admirably crafted experiment in an unconsidered worthwhile form with transportive, keen dedication. Although, in order to have that sort of engaging effect it seems more on insisting that you watched the noir genre frequently than converting towards further discovery, otherwise the experiment will be mediocrely received but will nonetheless intrigue. (B-)

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

06/20/25

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Stephen C

Funny in just 1 hour and 29 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

05/30/25

Full Review

Farah R

A film so ambitious and wittingly executed, Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid is an outrageously creative and fun comedy. The story gets a little jumbled along the way but the movie never ceases the chance for a good gag. It’s definitely worth watching.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

05/08/25

Full Review

Oaklee D

A witty and charming love letter to the golden age of Hollywood. Carlos was my favourite supporting character, he was hilarious.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

09/27/24

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steve d

Charming enough and amusing enough to keep my attention. It's not super hilarious but I laughed out loud a few times and chuckled quite a bit. I had no idea if this would be any good but I'm glad i watched it.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

09/04/23

Full Review

Steve D

Inconsistently funny and often becomes what it tries to make fun of.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

08/21/23

Full Review

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Carl Reiner

Director

Steve Martin

Rigby Reardon

Rachel Ward

Juliet Forrest

Carl Reiner

Field Marshall VonKluck

Reni Santoni

Carlos Rodriguez

George Gaynes

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Synopsis

When a famous cheese maker dies in a freak car crash, his daughter (Rachel Ward) is convinced that it was no accident. She thinks he was murdered for his top-secret cheese recipes. To prove her theory, she hires detective Roy Reardon (Steve Martin). His quest to find out what happened to the missing man brings him face-to-face with movie legends, actors such as Humphrey Bogart, Alan Ladd and Burt Lancaster, via footage from classic film noir and crime films.

Director: Carl Reiner
Producer: David V. Picker, William McEuen
Screenwriter: Carl Reiner, George Gipe, Steve Martin
Production Co: Aspen Film Society, Universal Pictures
Rating: PG
Genre: Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 11, 2015
Runtime: 1h 29m
Sound Mix: Stereo

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