This is one of Michael Caine's funniest performances and he and Ben Kingsley worked quite well together. The supporting cast is top-notch as well. Jeffry Jones as LeStrade is very good and Peter Cook has a fine supporting turn. As for the premise-that Holmes was a front for Watson, given the fact that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was himself a physician and that he grew so sick of Holmes he tried to kill him off, I suspect he would have enjoyed the whole thing enormously. Twists and turns throughout, as a good mystery should and enough comedy to keep you laughing. Some interesting twists at the end. Poor LeStrade! Recommended.

Considering that the Sherlock Holmes character has appeared in more movies than any other, it's not surprising that they would try making several parodies of the famous detective. "Without a Clue" has a very interesting premise--that it's Watson who is the genius and Holmes is just a boob playing in an elaborate ruse. It seems that the Holmes stories that Watson writes for 'The Strand Magazine' really are about him and his detective prowess. There really is no Holmes--just an actor (Michael Caine) that the Doctor (Ben Kingsley) has hired to play the part. The problem is that the actor is a complete imbecile, a womanizer and a drunk and Watson has had enough of this. So Watson has finally decided to expose the truth....but no one seems to care or believe him. Finally, out of desperation, Watson rehires the actor and they embark on a case that takes them on the trail of the dreaded Moriarty.

The acting is pretty good here (I especially liked Kingsley) and the story has many clever touches. Unfortunately, the humor is sometimes a bit too broad and they make Holmes such an obvious idiot that I can't believe anyone would be taken in by him. Perhaps a bit more subtlety would have made a better film. Also, the ending just seemed to go on and on and on. Clearly the film could have used a bnit of editing. Still, it's worth seeing--especially if you are tiring of the same old sort of Sherlock Holmes film.

WITHOUT A CLUE is an affectionately-written Holmes spoof that features some great casting in the form of Michael Caine as a hapless, hopeless Holmes and Ben Kingsley as Watson, who turns out to be the real 'power behind the crown'. It offers a generally funny approach to the material, with lots of good gags and wacky incidents as this terrible twosome find themselves up against the usual villainous types spearheaded by none other than old foe Moriarty. It's not the funniest film I've ever seen, but the cast alone is enough to make this worth checking out.