I Love You To Death (1990)

When the devoted wife (Tracey Ullman) of a pizza parlor owner (Kevin Kline) learns her husband has been cheating on her, she plots to have him killed. But she's not doing it all by herself. She requires the help of her mother (Joan Plowright), the pizzeria's busboy (River Phoenix) and two junkies (William Hurt, Keanu Reeves). Directed by Lawrence Kasdan (THE BIG CHILL), the film is loosely based on an actual incident but the screenwriter John Kostmayer has turned it into a black comedy. The film opened to middling reviews in 1990 but most people I know seem to have a great affection for it and I can see why. It's an over the top farce but there's a strong emotional core to the film that  that's rather touching. The ensemble cast is impeccable, almost pushing it too far but never quite crossing the line. Perhaps Hurt and Reeves are too obvious casting as the airhead hired killers but they're spot on and Plowright practically walks off with the movie as the homicidal Yugoslavian mother. With Phoebe Cates, Heather Graham, James Gammon, Miriam Margolyes, Victoria Jackson and Jack Kehler.