Noises Off...

I would have never, ever watched this movie. I passed it by many times without every giving it a second of a chance. I mean, I was 10 and this movie really held no interest for me. Then, one day, while scanning through the channels I came upon this movie when Nicollette Sheridan is running around in her underwear... well, that got my attention. That one thing held my interest long enough for me to get pulled into the story of the movie and by the time the movie was over... I loved it.

Even at my age this movie had me rolling with laughter. But now 11 years later, I caught the movie again and it was even funnier. The characters were great and were acted well by the all star cast. Christopher Reeve getting a nose bleed at the slightest sign of violence, John Ritters jealousy, Michael Caine's frustrations at trying to deal with the antics of his cast were all hilarious. Watching as the cast is arguing and fighting while trying to act out the scenes and keep Selsdon (Denholm Elliot) from alcohol was hilarity defined. I REALLY loved Marilu Henner as Belinda in this movie. I really fell in love with her character as I watched her run around trying to keep the peace. She always seemed to know what was going on and was always perky and her smile rarely waivered. Overall, the whole cast was great and it is one of my most unexpected favorite movies.

This movie is a great film, period. Great concept, great cast, great plot. The inherent problem is the fact that most of this humor, though very fresh, is lost on most people. Unless you have acted on stage in some facet, this movie is mere slapstick. I saw this movie when I was younger, before I started acting, and I liked it, but it just seemed kind of shallow. Now that I have some stage under my belt, this movie's humor is mindblowing, because the insanity is just that outrageous. I'm not saying people can't like this movie if they aren't actors, but it helps. What helps this movie as well is the intellect of the humor. Below all the slapstick site gags and bad happenings, the depth of the character development is vast and beautiful, making you really think that these people, in the end, hate each other.

"Noises Off..." is one crazy movie. Based on Michael Frynn's play, it's about an inept travelling theater group doing stage productions of a British sex farce. The problem with this play is that as each month passes by while stopping from city to city, the actors start getting at each others throats. Michael Caine is hilariously funny as the frustrated director who gets to the point where he can't bear to deal with his clumsy actors because of the tumult backstage. "Noises Off..." is filmed in three different parts. First there's the rehearsal just before opening night in Des Moines, Iowa. Next there's a stop in Miami Beach where we see almost all the action taking place backstage. Finally there's the stop in Cleveland where the show practically falls flat on its face. This final part of the movie felt like torture to me. Nevertheless, "Noises Off..." is very funny most of the time and I did laugh alot. Besides Caine, the great cast also features Carol Burnett, John Ritter, Christopher Reeve, Julie Hagerty, Marilu Henner, Denholm Elliott, Mark Linn-Baker, and Nicollette Sheridan. All give funny performances and that helps to make "Noises Off..." a very good comedy.

*** (out of four)

"Noises Off" is based on a popular play. Directed by Peter Bogdonavich, it tells the story of a bedroom farce, "Nothing On," which is, in fact, a dud of a play - and what goes on backstage and on-stage as the actors rehearse, play out of town, and open on Broadway. Thanks to break-ups, jealousies, and drunkenness, the offstage happenings spill over into the play, as the actors grow to hate one another more and more. Anyone with experience in theater will love it the most, but it's fun for everyone.

The cast is top-notch - Michael Caine is the harried director, and the stars of the "play" are Carol Burnett, John Ritter, Christopher Reeve, Marilu Henner, Nicolette Sheridan, Mark-Linn Baker, and Denholm Elliott. Julie Hagerty is the near-hysterical stage manager.

There's a lot of slapstick and much "actor talk" with the actors searching for motivations; there's a drunk actor (Elliott) who pops up from time to time asking if it's his cue yet. (Soon, the cast finds his stash of booze and start chugalugging themselves.) Caine is terrific as a Valium-popping director driven to near-madness.

The play is much better than the film, even though the film is terribly funny.

Unfortunately, for me anyway, it's just terribly sad to see handsome, robust Christopher Reeve walking around and the talented, deceased John Ritter. Boy, life sure has some same twists. So does "Noises Off" - but unlike some of life's twists, these twists are accompanied by plenty of belly laughs.

21 March 2009. The movie version of the play can't even come close replicating the complex and risky physical comedy that live theater, if done well, explodes into a dazzling sheer hilarious and spectacular presentation in real time. A lot depends on exact timing and the audience knows it. The first and third acts in both the film and live theater productions are fairly similar and the tone of the comedy is approximate. Unfortunately, the movie version's second act, behind the scenes where the movie version breaks down and the liquor bottle comic antics are completely lost. It's hard to keep up with what's going on and the duplicity of the relationships in the movie version. Overall, the movie holds its own in the first act, loses a lot in the second, and is adequately, if not sharp and snappy in its delivery in the second. The movie has a number of great moments mostly due to the playwright's script. The movie is funny, but it just can't hold a plate to a Broadway production of the play. **Since the movie's release, it is with sadness that Christopher Reeves and John Ritter have since past away which in a way deflates the movie, until their performances and the rest of the cast is able to their credit transport us into the past and their live behavior on the screen.** 6/10.

More than 20 years later, Noises Off ages well as the memory of the brilliant stage performance fades in comparison. While not spectacular as a movie production, the movie seems to be more funny and more entertaining than originally seen, especially the second act. So while Noises Off might not come across as great, it has become a nice testament of comedy for the late Christopher Reeve, late John Ritter, and the late Denholm Elliot which Noises Off was to be his final movie. Definitely worth renting for the experience. Reviewed 4/3/2021. 7/10.