The Impostors - Zwei Hochstapler in Not

I rented this knowing nothing about it (not much of this kind of thing makes it to Kentucky). I just really like Oliver Platt. So I rented it one night in college, having nothing better to do...

And I loved it. It's really not like any movie I've ever seen. I'm not really a connoisseur of Laurel and Hardy or anyone like that--I'm just your average college kid, I guess. I don't like most American comedy, though, because it's a little too dependent on violence and switching one's brain off. But this movie was so different and so funny! It was silly, sure, but it was smart and really amusing. I love Steve Buscemi in everything he's in, and he was just TOO funny here. I was rolling in the floor.

And Campbell Scott was just great, I loved how he kept popping up at the most inopportune times. But my favorite part, I think, was that little bit with the Hamlet play. I've seen productions like this and known actors like that and it was just PERFECT! The archetypical actor who can't fit his inflated head through the backstage door. It was truly hilarious all the way through, and I don't know anything about what it could be based on. I just liked it a lot. But it's not your average American comedy, and it might inspire a love/hate response in many viewers. I think it's probably an acquired taste.

A very amusing film. It has elements of the Marx bros, Laurel and Hardy, Grand Hotel and Some Like It Hot. Really an homage to the screwball comedy films of the 30's that were chock full of great character actors. The plot is skimpy at best but half the fun is guessing the previous credits for the great cast. Look for an un-credited performance by Woody Allen as a distracted Broadway director.

This is a top-notch comedy at the most audacious level. I once heard someone say that door-slamming farcical comedy never works on film; and I think this is one of the movies that proves them wrong. It reminded me of the brilliant stage farce "Noises Off" (which was also turned into a movie with fairly successful results).

I thought the opening title gags were brilliant, especially Oliver Platt. I loved Billy Connolly as a camp tennis player and Allison Janney as a gangster's moll. I also thought Alfred Molina, Tony Shalhoub, Campbell Scott, Steve Buscemi and Matt McGrath were brilliant as well. The pastry shop scene and Tucci crying poor were also outstanding highlights.

My only slight criticism with this film is that the pacing seemed a tiny bit slow at times, but otherwise this is an exceptional storyline. This is definitely the sort of movie I'd like to see a lot more of. It also proves that they CAN make 'em like they used to.

The working title SHIP OF FOOLS is appropriate. Never since the Marx Brothers took on the world, opera, and a ship of pretentious windbags has there been such a delightful comedy. It's too bad the film is being shown only in art houses. It is a gem of a comedy.

What a bad idea! Was anyone wanting an update of Laurel and Hardy? Does anyone want to see two unattractive guys pawing each other for a whole picture? Does anyone want to see a bunch of New York dramatic actors trying to act like they're funny? Does anyone want to hear the same bad musical selections played over and over while the actors run through the same hallways again and again? Bad bad bad. The only good moment is at the end, when the entire cast dances off the set and you know that the movie is officially over.