Ruthless People... wait, is Danny DeVito always like THIS?!

Okay, so I just watched 'Ruthless People' (1986) and I gotta say, it was...weirdly enjoyable? I went in blind, knowing absolutely nothing except it was supposed to be a comedy. Didn't even know who the director was haha. The basic premise is that this super rich dude, Sam Stone (Danny DeVito), is basically thrilled when his wife gets kidnapped. Dude's legit HOPING they kill her. That's a dark starting point for a comedy, right?!! But here's my theory, and maybe I'm way off because this is the first time I've seen DeVito in something that isn't like, 'Hercules' or 'It's Always Sunny', but I think Sam Stone is secretly a good guy deep down, or at least, he's more pathetic than evil. Hear me out: he's SO bad at being a bad guy! Like, he clearly has no idea what he's doing, he's just motivated by hating his wife Barbara (Bette Midler). The scene where he's 'negotiating' with the kidnappers and keeps trying to get THEM to lower the ransom is hilarious, but also kinda proves my point. A truly ruthless person wouldn't be so clumsy and incompetent. My other thought (and this is probably a stretch), is that maybe he was subconsciously trying to get caught. He's so obvious in his hatred of Barbara, it almost feels like he WANTED the police to figure it out. Maybe he's just desperate to be out of the marriage but lacks the guts to actually get a divorce? Okay that might too much analysis for a goofy 80's movie haha. But I def think there's more to Sam Stone than just a greedy, wife-hating jerk. Overall, it's a fun watch, some of the jokes are a little dated but DeVito and Midler are clearly having a BLAST. Anyone else have thoughts or interpretations on this one?