The War of the Roses (1989)

Black comedy directed by Danny DeVito, who also plays a lawyer narrating the plot. The story deals with a couple, Oliver and Barbara Rose, who plan to divorce but cannot agree on who will keep their large house. Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner are reunited from Romancing the Stone and The Jewel of the Nile, both of which also featured DeVito, although this is a very different kind of film. As the couple’s rivalry intensifies, they end up effectively trying to kill each other.

The comedy isn’t really funny enough, with some of the slapstick seeming very extreme. It badly needs more laughs. Instead, it’s certainly interesting and memorable but it’s tonally quite peculiar.

Man on the Moon (1999)

Directed by Miloš Forman, this is a brilliant biopic of the wildly original comedian Andy Kaufman. 

Jim Carrey is superb in the main role, but he’s expertly assisted by Paul Giamatti (as Kaufman’s best friend) and Danny DeVito (as Andy’s manager). The film traces Kaufman’s career, but it escapes the trapping of bog-standard biopics by embracing the playful qualities of the comedian’s work. 

Courtney Love plays his girlfriend well, but isn’t really given enough lines.

The famous R.E.M. song is the theme tune.

Get Shorty (1995)

Clever mixture of crime and comedy, directed by Barry Sonnenfeld and adapted from the excellent novel by Elmore Leonard. 

John Travolta plays Chili Palmer, a loan shark from Miami who starts getting involved in the film world after going to L.A. on a job. He meets a horror director (Gene Hackman), a famous Hollywood star (Danny DeVito) and a glamorous B-movie actor (Rene Russo). But unfortunately there are gangsters out to get him (Dennis Farina, Delroy Lindo and James Gandolfini). 

It’s punchy and witty, with the twists and turns of Leonard’s plot captured well. Travolta is perfect in the lead role, and Russo has an easy charm. They both add to the appealing quirkiness.

The Jewel of the Nile (1985)

Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner and Danny DeVito reprise their roles from 1984's Romancing the Stone. Six months have passed and the couple now embark on a new adventure in Africa, seeking the "Jewel of the Nile" and tackling a demented dictator. 

It’s just as daft as the original and I enjoyed it a lot, despite the common consensus that it was a disappointing sequel.

It’s spectacular, silly and fun. There’s a particularly strong scene in which Douglas drives a fighter jet around crowded streets, causing havoc.

On the down side, DeVito doesn't really need to be there and the plot sometimes struggles to accommodate him. But Turner is endlessly appealing – charming and funny enough to rise above the good-natured but sometimes less than sparkling material.

Romancing the Stone (1984)

Another film watched on TV while on holiday. This is an action-adventure romp starring Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner. 

The plot is ludicrous, but it’s also charming and fun. Turner is terrific as the lonely romantic novelist from New York who finds herself in her own romantic saga in Colombia. Douglas is passable as the male lead, an American bird smuggler. I like the line when – reading an old magazine in a crashed plane – he exclaims “Dammit, man” having finally learned that “the Doobie Brothers broke up!” 

I could have done without Danny DeVito, who seems to play the same part in every film he’s in, but even with his unfunny antics this is still highly enjoyable fluff.