Screwball comedy about romantic mismatches in New York City. Peter Bogdanovich is obviously in love with all the women in his picture--he reveres them--yet Audrey Hepburn is (naturally) put a notch above the others because, after all, she's the princess Bogdanovich probably fell in love with at the movies 30 years prior. He shoots her in loving close-ups, gets right in the sheets between her and a wonderfully hard-boiled/soft-boiled Ben Gazzara, and allows her room to sparkle throughout. The love-connections made in the course of the film are fast and amusing, though I did tire of John Ritter's TV-styled klutziness. Colleen Camp, Dorothy Stratten, and the grounded, earthy-sensual Patti Hansen are all exciting to watch. But it's really Hepburn's valentine and she absolutely glows. *** from ****
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moonspinner5524 May 2001
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ksf-24 May 2019Everybody seems to be following everyone in this caper from Bogdanovich. Some really big names: Audrey Hepburn, Ben Gazzara, and of course, 33 year old John Ritter, while he was still making Three's Company. Minimal speaking, at least the first part of the film. Turns out, private-eyes are following spouses who may be playing around. Some pretty good singing by Colleen Camp, who plays the jealous Christy. Great street scenes of New York city. Patti Hansen (now MRS. Keith Richards in real life! ) is taxi driver Sam, who pals around with Russo (Gazzara). although everyone is pretty much hitting on everyone in this tangled bowl of spaghetti. lots of following people around the streets of new york. Bogdanovich explores married people flirting and fooling around. and partners and new friends keep meeting the other partners. Bogdanovich really explores un-expected new relationships, and people having multiple partners. Why does Christy keep saying Charles?? quite odd. and "Jose" is Hepburn's real-life son. lots of similarities to What's Up Doc, but that was just one person trying to steal the engaged guy away from his fiancee. As goofed up as director Bogdanovch's personal life was, he sure made some great films. My personal favorite is What's Up Doc? really interesting info him on wikipedia, as well as a full interview in New York Magazine March 2019. Good character study.
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They All Laughed (1981)
Peter Bogdanovich had directed two real classics of 1970s American Cinema before this one, The Last Picture Show and Paper Moon. Both are heartfelt, somewhat romanticized, and sensitive movies. That's all I knew of him before seeing They All Laughed, and I was surprised at the choppy, slight, throwaway quality to it all. The acting varies hugely from John Ritter being vaguely comic to Audrey Hepburn (yes!) being vaguely Audrey Hepburn. Ritter is used too much and Hepburn not enough. Ben Gazzara can be terrific but here he is supposed to be the stellar ladies man, cool and profound and worldly, and he doesn't pull it off, which becomes an embarrassment. Add some minor characters really struggling, and you begin to think it isn't the acting, but the directing, that keeps it from taking off.
There are several layered plots at work here, and the stuttered construction might have held water with more pieces intact. But more to the point might be the basic premise of the plot or plots. There is genuine adolescent girl watching (and drooling), there is an adult love affair that doesn't quite make sense, there is a crime or two at work behind the scenes (and taxis and helicopters and such). It's cobbled together and filmed rather routinely and in general leaves you feeling disoriented and sorry you got involved. Yeah, that disappointing. -
Poseidon-316 June 2009Considered the favorite of director Bogdonovich's own pictures, this is a very personal movie featuring his friends and characters based on his friends and himself. It's also astonishingly indulgent, which may put off many viewers (as it did upon first release.) Gazzara, Ritter and Novak play private investigators, hired to spy on a pair of married women who may be indulging in extramarital affairs. Ritter and Novak are tailing pretty, young Stratton while Gazzara has his eye on wealthy wife and mother Hepburn. During the peeking, peeping and following, other characters are woven into the mix such as the men's employer Morfogen and his efficient secretary MacEwan, sensuous cab driver Hanson, enigmatic Latin Ferrer and bombastic, frenetic country singer Camp. They bop around New York as if it's a tiny hamlet such as Mayberry, constantly running across each other and interacting, associating and cross-pollinating. Ritter, enacting the director's alter ego, goes for slapsticky laughs throughout with middling success. He tries hard, but his character isn't particularly interesting, engaging or even appealing, really. Gazzara coasts through the movie on understated charisma, allowing only an occasionally glimmer of spunk to show through. Hepburn isn't heard until halfway through. She lends an air of grace to the movie that would otherwise be absent, but also seems out of place against most of her other cast-mates save Gazzara. Rail thin, she's like a hairy Q-Tip with oversize designers sunglasses on much of the time. Stratton is truly pretty and occasionally displays a propensity for screen acting, but she has no character to play whatsoever. She's a prop. Novak is even skinnier than Hepburn and hairier, to boot! His "cool" character is frequently annoying. Camp is practically unbearable. Bogdonovich has said that she's basically playing herself throughout which is certainly no compliment! The less said about the rest of the cast the better because they are almost all really bad and, fortunately, most of them only did another project or two before disappearing from the movie camera's eye forever. Hyser and Pena being exceptions. Though the film is a Valentine to Manhattan, and parts of the city have rarely been presented so prettily lit and so affectionately displayed, the good news mostly stops there. The story, such as it is, is vague, non-involving and tiresome while the characters are alternately dull or grating. There is very little to take an interest in or root for, though there is a palpable sense of regret and suffocation where Hepburn is concerned. Music in the film ranges from classy and appropriate to intrusive and obnoxious. There's genuine sadness in the fact that Stratton is seen here playing a lovely woman, married to a lout, being followed by a detective when in real life she was a lovely woman, married to a lout, being followed by a detective and when the detective discovered she was being unfaithful, her husband killed her and then himself. This fact has been blamed for the film's dismal box office performance, but that's not the reason it failed. It failed because it is too personally specific to appeal to most people and too off-putting and self-indulgent to even bother delivering characters and plot that anyone could care about. Were "Giant" and "Rebel Without a Cause" hampered by the death of James Dean prior to their release? Did "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?" tank when Spencer Tracy died soon after filming wrapped? Did people stay away from "The Dark Knight" following Heath Ledger's death? No. People actually are curious to see a movie after the star has died suddenly unless the movie is simply no good.
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EUyeshima30 October 2006There is a certain French farcical charm, however calculated, about director Peter Bogdanovich's 1981 urban valentine to romantic entanglements in Manhattan; but just released on DVD a quarter-century later, the film still feels half-baked in execution. Perhaps because Bogdanovich has too innate a familiarity with Hollywood's golden era, there is just too much pastiche and not enough depth to the shenanigans of three private eyes, their put-upon boss and the various women with whom they intertwine most predictably. The characters come in and out of this omnibus tale like Robert Altman's "Nashville" and Jean Renoir's "Rules of the Game", but the results are not nearly as resonant.
Unfortunately, the movie was jinxed immediately when co-star Dorothy Stratten, who became romantically involved with Bogdanovich during filming, was infamously murdered by her husband right after its completion. If the film was meant as the director's launching pad for Stratten as he did previously for Cybill Shepherd in "The Last Picture Show", he is only partially successful this time as the pretty starlet makes a comparatively modest impression as Dolores, the innocent object of obsession for bumbling detective Charles. These two are part of a larger ensemble, which includes Arthur, a long-haired shamus constantly on roller skates, and John, the veteran investigator who finds himself drawn to Angela Niotes, the possibly philandering wife of an Italian industrialist.
Bogdanovich had the good fortune of casting Audrey Hepburn, in her last feature film starring role, as Angela. Even though her story does not even get going until an hour into the movie, a fiftyish Hepburn looks radiantly stylish and is the epitome of resigned grace as an unhappily married woman. In an apparent nod to Bogie, Ben Gazzara performs too close to the vest as world-weary John, while a young, bespectacled John Ritter seems to regale in all his slapstick business as the smitten Charles. Less successful are Blaine Novak as the overly hip Arthur, model Patti Hansen (long since married to Rolling Stone Keith Richards) as bromide-spouting taxi driver "Sam", and a particularly unctuous Colleen Camp as motor-mouthed country singer Christy Miller insinuating herself into everyone else's lives.
Much like a Jacques Demy film ("The Young Girls of Rochefort" comes immediately to mind), the plot unfolds after a long wordless introduction, and character motivations get filled in on an as-needed basis until the film gains some gravitas and then whimpers away. On the DVD's main extra, Bogdanovich states emphatically that this is the favorite of his films in an interview conducted with director Wes Anderson, who also admires the film (as does Quentin Tarantino, who makes it one of his top ten in "Halliwell's Top 1000" book). The details of the location shooting are interesting, as much was done on a modest scale with a minimum of extras, and Bogdanovich gratefully does not belabor the sensationalistic aspects of Stratten's death. He also provides a solid commentary track, and the print transfer on the DVD is relatively clean. I'm not sure the film is completely worthy of rediscovery in a vaunted 25th Anniversary Edition except for Hepburn's near-valedictory work and any lingering curiosity about Stratten. -
lee_eisenberg22 November 2005Peter Bogdanovich was one of the new wave of American directors in the early '70s, with movies like "The Last Picture Show", "What's Up, Doc?" and "Paper Moon". So did he just make "They All Laughed" for fun or something? I couldn't determine that the movie was actually trying to say anything; it almost seemed like an excuse to have a bunch of stars. No matter, I didn't think it was a bad movie. The plot centers on a detective investigating a number of people in New York, and the various things that happen as a result. Stars Ben Gazzara, Audrey Hepburn, and John Ritter almost just seem like they're wondering around a lot. Kind of strange.
But either way, I wouldn't agree with the previous reviewer who called "They All Laughed" the worst movie ever. Maybe it didn't have any social value or anything, but it was worth seeing. As far as I'm concerned, you can't even talk about the worst movie ever unless you've seen "Baryshnya-Krestyanka"; that is two hours of my life that I'm never going to get back, and Alexander Pushkin must spin in his grave every time that someone watches that garbage, knowing how they fouled up his novel. All in all, you may want to check out "They All Laughed", but it's definitely not for everyone. -
In the spirt of the old screwball comedies, this comes so very close to being great, but it held back just slightly by the weirdly empty sound mix, the too-quick love matches, and the slightly off acting style. I think it might have benefited from a slight tightening up in the pacing. As it stands, it's almost what it's homaging... you can see John Ritter channeling Cary Grant, but he's just not quite there. Had there been a little more tweaking in the editing, I think this could have been a classic, but circumstances prevented that. Overall, decent, but not great.
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gurghi-21 May 1999Who are these "They"- the actors? the filmmakers? Certainly couldn't be the audience- this is among the most air-puffed productions in existence. It's the kind of movie that looks like it was a lot of fun to shoot TOO much fun, nobody is getting any actual work done, and that almost always makes for a movie that's no fun to watch.
Ritter dons glasses so as to hammer home his character's status as a sort of doppleganger of the bespectacled Bogdanovich; the scenes with the breezy Ms. Stratten are sweet, but have an embarrassing, look-guys-I'm-dating-the-prom-queen feel to them. Ben Gazzara sports his usual cat's-got-canary grin in a futile attempt to elevate the meager plot, which requires him to pursue Audrey Hepburn with all the interest of a narcoleptic at an insomnia clinic. In the meantime, the budding couple's respective children (nepotism alert: Bogdanovich's daughters) spew cute and pick up some fairly disturbing pointers on 'love' while observing their parents. (Ms. Hepburn, drawing on her dignity, manages to rise above the proceedings- but she has the monumental challenge of playing herself, ostensibly.) Everybody looks great, but so what? It's a movie and we can expect that much, if that's what you're looking for you'd be better off picking up a copy of Vogue.
Oh- and it has to be mentioned that Colleen Camp thoroughly annoys, even apart from her singing, which, while competent, is wholly unconvincing... the country and western numbers are woefully mismatched with the standards on the soundtrack. Surely this is NOT what Gershwin (who wrote the song from which the movie's title is derived) had in mind; his stage musicals of the 20's may have been slight, but at least they were long on charm. "They All Laughed" tries to coast on its good intentions, but nobody- least of all Peter Bogdanovich - has the good sense to put on the brakes.
Due in no small part to the tragic death of Dorothy Stratten, this movie has a special place in the heart of Mr. Bogdanovich- he even bought it back from its producers, then distributed it on his own and went bankrupt when it didn't prove popular. His rise and fall is among the more sympathetic and tragic of Hollywood stories, so there's no joy in criticizing the film... there _is_ real emotional investment in Ms. Stratten's scenes. But "Laughed" is a faint echo of "The Last Picture Show", "Paper Moon" or "What's Up, Doc"- following "Daisy Miller" and "At Long Last Love", it was a thundering confirmation of the phase from which P.B. has never emerged.
All in all, though, the movie is harmless, only a waste of rental. I want to watch people having a good time, I'll go to the park on a sunny day. For filmic expressions of joy and love, I'll stick to Ernest Lubitsch and Jaques Demy... -
iamlarsx12 February 2001"They All Laughed" is one of those little movies I am always recommending to friends seeking something out of the ordinary. It is firmly rooted in the screwball romance traditions of the past, but seems more contemporary. Even the decidedly early 80s atmosphere doesn't date it too much. Bogdanovich wisely keeps the whole enterprise so light on its feet, that reality never brings it crashing down to earth. But, that said, this sort of sweet little movie absolutely relies on the actors to keep it going, and "TAL" is blessed with a dream cast who understand the requirements of this sort of tale. It is a movie that wouldn't linger so long in the memory if it weren't for the little moments provided by the excellent cast: Colleen Camp's simultaneously shouting orders at John Ritter and her dog; Blaine Novak unleashing all that hair from under his hat; and especially the moment Dorothy Stratten falls for John Ritter and says, "How...weird." It's such a piece of fluff one doesn't want to lay too much on it for fear of crushing it, but it is certainly does leave one with a light heart and a smile on one's face.
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What could be more schlocky than the idea of private detectives getting involved with the women they're supposed to be spying on? And most of the dialogue as written is perfectly banal.
But the actors turn the dialog into something that makes sense. You can see real people behind the unreal lines. And the directing is wonderful. Each scene does just what it has to and ends without dragging on too long.
I showed this to several friends in the mid-80s because I was perplexed at how such bad material could be made into such a good movie. The friends enjoyed it too. -
jayraskin14 March 2009It was great to see some of my favorite stars of 30 years ago including John Ritter, Ben Gazarra and Audrey Hepburn. They looked quite wonderful. But that was it. They were not given any characters or good lines to work with. I neither understood or cared what the characters were doing.
Some of the smaller female roles were fine, Patty Henson and Colleen Camp were quite competent and confident in their small sidekick parts. They showed some talent and it is sad they didn't go on to star in more and better films. Sadly, I didn't think Dorothy Stratten got a chance to act in this her only important film role.
The film appears to have some fans, and I was very open-minded when I started watching it. I am a big Peter Bogdanovich fan and I enjoyed his last movie, "Cat's Meow" and all his early ones from "Targets" to "Nickleodeon". So, it really surprised me that I was barely able to keep awake watching this one.
It is ironic that this movie is about a detective agency where the detectives and clients get romantically involved with each other. Five years later, Bogdanovich's ex-girlfriend, Cybil Shepherd had a hit television series called "Moonlighting" stealing the story idea from Bogdanovich. Of course, there was a great difference in that the series relied on tons of witty dialogue, while this tries to make do with slapstick and a few screwball lines.
Bottom line: It ain't no "Paper Moon" and only a very pale version of "What's Up, Doc". -
stagedoor31 August 2000Well, I had seen "They all laughed" when it came out in
Europe around 1982 and had kept a vague but dear souvenir of it. I 've just seen it again on tape, almost twenty years after... Bogdanovich has a true heartfelt tenderness over his characters and a kind sympathy which is difficult not to feel also. Excellent comedians and actors, good lines all over and for everyone and pretty good editing, too. I laughed and smiled all the time. Just as we all do, at times. Go get it. -
slokes30 November 2012A gentle, wistful comedy that plays with audience expectations as much as the fates of its many characters, "They All Laughed" is a hard film to characterize but a pleasure to watch for those of us who remember its central character, the island of Manhattan, way back when.
The plot, after much ambling, centers on a trio of stalkers who work at the Odyssey Detective Agency, circa 1980. They have been hired to watch over a pair of ladies suspected of straying by their suspicious husbands. We figure out well into the movie that the detectives themselves are the very people unknowingly threatening these troubled unions.
The 1930s introduced the "remarriage comedy;" this could be called a "demarriage comedy." Film lovers will find much to enjoy here. As romantic comedies go, it's not an especially funny or clever film, but "They All Laughed" remains amusing throughout and quite engaging with its idiosyncratic pacing and quirky characters.
Would this film pack the same punch without the tragic death of co-lead actress Dorothy Stratten just after filming wrapped? I suspect not. Like the World Trade Center, which figures in the background of several scenes, Stratten's Delores character makes for an arresting central image that's hard to miss, as much as you wish otherwise. This ices some of the humor but adds resonance about the passage of time.
As far as the film's premise is concerned, a character that no doubt echoes director Peter Bogdanovich blurts out: "I don't know what I'm going to do!"
Ben Gazzara's lead character, John Russo, replies: "Who does?"
Gazzara is the center of the film, his quiet authority suggestive of Frank Sinatra whose songs permeate the eclectic score. He speaks in koans much of the time, and this can be annoying, except he seems plugged into a sort of wisdom "They All Laughed" espouses.
"I'm a charmer," is how he introduces himself, and he is.
It's enjoyable watching him trade lines with Odyssey's other two detectives, played by John Ritter and Blaine Novak. Likable romantic foil Ritter does a lot of physical humor, not far removed from his Jack Tripper character on TV's then-hit sitcom "Three's Company," while Novak, a total blank to me, sticks out with his wild hair and goofy patois.
"Look at it this way, Chas, she's in pre-bop with the boyfriend, she's in post-bop with the husband," he says. "If she gets into post-bop with the boyfriend, she'll be in ex-bop with the husband, the case is over, we get paid, and well, then it's every man for himself."
Is Bogdanovich too self-indulgent, too in love with Stratten, too caught up in the moment to explain to us the audience what's going on? Yes, and for 45 minutes we have no dialogue to tell us what it is we are supposed to be watching. But that same reticence becomes a kind of magic when you watch the film again and see how things flow so well. The challenge is sticking with this movie enough to watch it once, let alone multiple times. But it's a pretty fun ride once you make that effort.
Bogdanovich calls this his personal favorite of his films, which I can't relate to. "What's Up Doc?" is a far funnier romantic comedy, for one thing. But "They All Laughed," with its springtime visions of Broadway, Rockefeller Center, and Audrey Hepburn saying little but holding our attention as she crosses Fifth Avenue looking like a cross between Yoko Ono and Jackie O, makes you care despite your understandable confusion. Like Gazzara's character, it's a charmer. -
flyingcandy6 January 2007This is said to be a personal film for Peter Bogdonavitch. He based it on his life but changed things around to fit the characters, who are detectives. These detectives date beautiful models and have no problem getting them. Sounds more like a millionaire playboy filmmaker than a detective, doesn't it? This entire movie was written by Peter, and it shows how out of touch with real people he was. You're supposed to write what you know, and he did that, indeed. And leaves the audience bored and confused, and jealous, for that matter. This is a curio for people who want to see Dorothy Stratten, who was murdered right after filming. But Patti Hanson, who would, in real life, marry Keith Richards, was also a model, like Stratten, but is a lot better and has a more ample part. In fact, Stratten's part seemed forced; added. She doesn't have a lot to do with the story, which is pretty convoluted to begin with. All in all, every character in this film is somebody that very few people can relate with, unless you're millionaire from Manhattan with beautiful supermodels at your beckon call. For the rest of us, it's an irritating snore fest. That's what happens when you're out of touch. You entertain your few friends with inside jokes, and bore all the rest.
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lippp-131 October 2006Most of the major actors here do their best with not much to work with. The plot is nonsensical and way over the top. The dialogue seemed to be written by an amateur even though Peter Bogdanovich actually wrote it. This is supposed to be a romantic comedy. If so it's a comedy without any comedy and not much romance. The saving grace here is the nostalgic factor. Watching Audrey Hepburn and Ben Gazarra is a pleasure and in a different movie they may have further contributed to their impressive careers. In this mess, their scenes are impressive to watch precisely for their skill but what their characters do defies logic and you simply just don't buy it. John Ritter is very good and Dorothy Stratton holds her own because all she really has to do is look gorgeous. Collen Camp is, at best, mediocre and the weakest link in this cast. This film is only for film buffs who want to relive an era and marvel at the grace and charm of Ms. Hepburn. They may have all laughed but they weren't watching this movie when they did!!!
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PimpinAinttEasy4 January 2019My first film of 2019. Three detectives (Gazzara, John Ritter and another guy) relentlessly stalk beautiful women. They are private detectives hired by the husbands of the beautiful women. They also interact with many other beautiful women who seem to be stalking them. The film has a great country music score and is set in New York. DOROTHY STRATTEN and PATTI HANSAN looked gorgeous. This film is proof that without the intervention of feminists, activists and other intellectuals, the great directors of the 20th century would have been making awesome pornographic movies. This film is like a relentless pussy buffet, even though there is no nudity. This is one of TARANTINO's favorite movies. Hitchcock might have been proud of this film.
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scottforschler29 June 2022Apparently I saw this movie a few years ago and forgot most of it, and watching it again didn't recognize anything until minute 40 or so when I suddenly heard Christy (Colleen Camp) addressing "Charles!" in her very distinctive way and putting his name at the end of every sentence as if throwing it at him. Which means, I suppose, that the movie is mostly made out of little tidbits like this, and is not very deep, but fun for all that.
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elo-equipamentos10 April 2023According the bonus material the own Bogdanovich upholds it as his best work, however it sounds an odd offering, a comic dramatic picture, that never reaches anywhere, the great Audrey Hepburn was an absolute waste, Ben Gazzara is another out of line, worthwhile for some good and beauties characters improve a little bit, as Dorothy Stratten and the Patti Hansen, this freak comedy has some moments indeed.
Actually is hard to describe this complex picture, so I even don't try due it was so enigmatic and encrypted feature just Bogdanovich may explains without convince anybody, somehow it can be reassessed on twice watching, maybe we can find out anything palatable to our taste also with a more accurate look, the offbeat screenplay exposes a fine quality displaying a sort of time machine backing at New York streets openly in gorgeous urban landscape at crowed avenues, shops, pubs and harbor just appoint a few spots in the big apple.
I'd to confess that the movie draw my attention due I had watched "Star 80" when Bob Fosse exposes the Dorothy Stratten's story, seeing the picture could realize such stunning girl that even the beauty Mariel Hemingway couldn't matched never, just it deserves a look, but I didn't find it boring whatsoever, there are many good moments a due for it I gave a high rate on it, see New York on countless sequences is priceless, also some sexy scenes with double language pays off the messy parts!!
Thanks for reading.
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First watch: 2023 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 7. -
claudio_carvalho22 December 2004Today I found "They All Laughed" on VHS on sale in a rental. It was a really old and very used VHS, I had no information about this movie, but I liked the references listed on its cover: the names of Peter Bogdanovich, Audrey Hepburn, John Ritter and specially Dorothy Stratten attracted me, the price was very low and I decided to risk and buy it. I searched IMDb, and the User Rating of 6.0 was an excellent reference. I looked in "Mick Martin & Marsha Porter Video & DVD Guide 2003" and wow four stars! So, I decided that I could not waste more time and immediately see it. Indeed, I have just finished watching "They All Laughed" and I found it a very boring overrated movie. The characters are badly developed, and I spent lots of minutes to understand their roles in the story. The plot is supposed to be funny (private eyes who fall in love for the women they are chasing), but I have not laughed along the whole story. The coincidences, in a huge city like New York, are ridiculous. Ben Gazarra as an attractive and very seductive man, with the women falling for him as if her were a Brad Pitt, Antonio Banderas or George Clooney, is quite ridiculous. In the end, the greater attractions certainly are the presence of the Playboy centerfold and playmate of the year Dorothy Stratten, murdered by her husband pretty after the release of this movie, and whose life was showed in "Star 80" and "Death of a Centerfold: The Dorothy Stratten Story"; the amazing beauty of the sexy Patti Hansen, the future Mrs. Keith Richards; the always wonderful, even being fifty-two years old, Audrey Hepburn; and the song "Amigo", from Roberto Carlos. Although I do not like him, Roberto Carlos has been the most popular Brazilian singer since the end of the 60's and is called by his fans as "The King". I will keep this movie in my collection only because of these attractions (manly Dorothy Stratten). My vote is four.
Title (Brazil): "Muito Riso e Muita Alegria" ("Many Laughs and Lots of Happiness") -
I watched it some years ago. I remembered it as very mysterious situations, and a mixture of melancholic things, like the fate of Dorothy and the personal future of Bogdanovich.
I turn to watch on my VHS copy and then I was reviewing it more and more. Nowadays I am waiting for the DVD version, at any price, please!
The country and easy listening music is very well chosen from the very first second, a bit of blueish, but also happy.
All the characters are great to me, with funny situations, great acting and a lot of dialogs that have turn this as a cult movie to me and a lot of people I met on the Internet or cinema clubs. This may not be casualty.
I think that the title is a hope about life! You have to be happy and laugh as much as possible
I know that this may be a particular comment for the movie, but the fact is that I like it very much, I think that movie marked me and I will never forget it. -
hendyman18 October 2001This film is just plain horrible. John Ritter doing pratt falls, 75% of the actors delivering their lines as if they were reading them from cue cards, poor editing, horrible sound mixing (dialogue is tough to pick up in places over the background noise), and a plot that really goes nowhere. I didn't think I'd ever say this, but Dorothy Stratten is not the worst actress in this film. There are at least 3 others that suck more. Patti Hansen delivers her lines with the passion of Ben Stein. I started to wonder if she wasn't dead inside. Even Bogdanovich's kids are awful (the oldest one is definitely reading her lines from a cue card). This movie is seriously horrible. There's a reason Bogdanovich couldn't get another project until 4 years later. Please don't watch it. If you see it in your television listings, cancel your cable. If a friend suggests it to you, reconsider your friendship. If your spouse wants to watch it, you're better off finding another soulmate. I'd rather gouge my eyes out with lawn darts than sit through this piece of garbage again. If I could sum this film up in one word, that word would be: Suckotrocity
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Boyo-228 October 1999I am glad other people enjoyed this movie, cause I know it doesn't have the greatest reputation and it made no money at the box office. I thought it was terrific and there are several reasons why - Bogdanovich directs with the lightest of touches, the cast (especially Coleen Camp) is perfect and the Big Bad Apple never looked better on film. You've seen worse movies!
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dave_paden30 April 2008Never cast models and Playboy bunnies in your films! Bob Fosse's "Star 80" about Dorothy Stratten, of whom Bogdanovich was obsessed enough to have married her SISTER after her murder at the hands of her low-life husband, is a zillion times more interesting than Dorothy herself on the silver screen. Patty Hansen is no actress either..I expected to see some sort of lost masterpiece a la Orson Welles but instead got Audrey Hepburn cavorting in jeans and a god-awful "poodlesque" hair-do....Very disappointing...."Paper Moon" and "The Last Picture Show" I could watch again and again. This clunker I could barely sit through once. This movie was reputedly not released because of the brouhaha surrounding Ms. Stratten's tawdry death; I think the real reason was because it was so bad!
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magicsteven1 October 2002This film is worth watching. Screwball comedy stylings brought up-to-date... ie 80's New York.
Perhaps this'll move some of you: it made Quentin Tarantino's list of his Top Ten Films of All-Time in 2002. -
crusadenow27 February 2009I can't believe that those praising this movie herein aren't thinking of some other film. I was prepared for the possibility that this would be awful, but the script (or lack thereof) makes for a film that's also pointless. On the plus side, the general level of craft on the part of the actors and technical crew is quite competent, but when you've got a sow's ear to work with you can't make a silk purse. Ben G fans should stick with just about any other movie he's been in. Dorothy S fans should stick to Galaxina. Peter B fans should stick to Last Picture Show and Target. Fans of cheap laughs at the expense of those who seem to be asking for it should stick to Peter B's amazingly awful book, Killing of the Unicorn.