L'ultima battuta

There is something not right about this movie. What is it? I don't know. It could be one, a few or all of many things:

Characterizations change by the minute, with flimsy and/or no explanation. It bounces back and forth and back again between slapstick, light-hearted comedy, gritty drama, and sappiness. It spends painful stretches focusing on comedy acts that are supposed to be funny (everyone on the screen thinks they are) but they really aren't. It runs far too long.

But at the same time, it's okay. Amusing at least, and it has it's decent moments, among the forgettable and awkward ones.

A reviewer once complained that "Punchline" commits an unforgivable sin by being an unfunny movie about stand up comics. For anyone who agrees, try looking "irony" up in the dictionary - it's an element that's occasionally used outside of the literary world.

The film's deliberately awkward and painful scenes illustrate the point, "Lady, nothing is a joke to me. That's why I'm in comedy. And that's why you're not."

The same reviewer made the hilarious claim that comics never tell jokes out of compulsion or denial, but simply because "they love making other people laugh." newsflash: creative and hysterical people are often highly dysfunctional! :D thank you goodnight!

I cannot say enough good things about this movie. It's one of the most original movies I've seen in a long time.

How often is it that we have this movie plot: boy meets involved girl, girl realizes boy is her true love, girl dumps her lover to marry boy, boy and girl live happily ever after? To say that this is not the case in this movie is a gross understatement.

The stand-up acts are not amazing, but that's not really what the movie's about. It's better if you look at it as a drama. I love how everyone thinks Tom Hanks, a very funny guy in this movie, is a one-dimensional person who is ALL about humor. That's the real point of the movie - he's not. I especially love the line (and I know I'll screw this up somehow):

Field: You're so funny because everything is a joke to you. Hanks: I'm so funny because nothing is a joke to me.

I've seen my share of comedy-dramas, but most I only liked for the comedy aspect. In this one I could just ignore all the stand-up and I'd still love this movie (although the opening scene is very well-done and funny).

I would highly recommend it, it comes on the cable movie channels a lot.

My father is a stand-up comic, and all I can say is that this film above most others shows comedians for what they truly are. Comedy is truly based out of pain, and the two main characters truly have a great deal of pain in their lives. All the actors give their performances more than two dimensions, and are truthful in what they are dong at all times. If your looking for a laugh out loud comedy, than you'll be greatly disappointed, this film is really about he drama of the life of people who are trying to make it in the entertainment business. As a closing statement, i have heard many comics who were around at the time of this picture say that Tom Hanks was one of the greatest comics that they had seen, and if he had not caught the acting bug first, that he would have been a great comic.

55/100. David Seltzer's direction doesn't guide the film along as it should, he doesn't seem to know what direction to go in. . It jumps from comedy, to satire, heavy drama, romance and back again. Sally Fields and Tom Hanks try, but the material they are working with just doesn't know what it wants to be. The romantic angle is completely out of place, and overall the bitterness of the film is a turn off. Even the stand up comedy scenes shown in the film that are supposed to be good, simply aren't. The ending is not satisfying at all. It is a shame the stars didn't get better material, it could have worked so well in different hands.