Without a Clue (1988)
What if Dr John Watson had really existed and Sherlock Holmes had been a figment of his imagination? That’s the starting point for Without A Clue, in which Watson (Kingsley) is the real genius who writes up his own adventures for The Strand magazine, inventing a supersleuth, Sherlock Holmes, to feature as the main protagonist. Soon Holmes’ popularity becomes so great that Watson has to hire an out-of-work actor, Reginald Kincaid (Caine), to pose as the world’s greatest consulting detective.
So far, so Remington Steele. But, unlike Pierce Brosnan’s urbane alter-ego, Kincaid is a drunken, lecherous buffoon with little talent:
Holmes: How can I be expected to maintain the character when you belittle me in front of those hooligans?
Watson: Character? Are we talking about the same man who once declared with total conviction that the late Colonel Howard had been bludgeoned to death with a blunt excrement?
Holmes: Is it my fault you have such poor handwriting?
Watson tries dumping Holmes and reinventing himself John Watson, Crime Doctor, but everyone wants the ‘real’ Sherlock Holmes, not his sidekick. When the plates for making five pound notes are stolen from the Royal Mint, Queen Victoria herself insists only Sherlock Holmes can possibly be trusted to solve the problem, much to Watson’s disgust, and the two are forced to work together again.
Caine romps through this, chewing scenery as he goes, proving that his movie-stealing comedic turn in Sweet Liberty was no fluke. Kingsley gives a clear indication that he, too, really should do more comedy.
An overlooked gem.