Palco de Ilusões

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!

Memorable.....but bad memories outweigh good, at least for me, with this movie.

That's my recollection of this film which, frankly, I haven't seen in over a decade. However, this movie left some indelible impressions in my sensitive memory, and perhaps I'll re-visit it again one day.

Tom Hanks was mesmerizing as the haunted comedian, a man with a lot of talent to make people laugh but a guy tormented by the lack of support from his father. There is a scene or two in here with this dad that is so uncomfortable to watch that it has prevented me from seeing this another time.

Too bad, because I do remember some wonderful, funny scenes such as Hanks in the hospital entertaining the patients. Sally Field also gives a touching performance as a housewife trying to break into the business, and John Goodman is likable as her husband.

An interesting film with very emotional scenes you won't forget. It's almost too much for me, for some reason.

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.

Tom Hanks performs the "Singing in the Rain" umbrella/street dance number like you'd never imagine it could be. I loved him in this movie. Probably more than the vast majority of his others. His portrayal of an emotionally tormented and lost young man blessed with a tremendous and natural talent for comedy - dark as it may be - broke my heart. I wasn't crazy about Sally Fields as his leading lady - the match up just didn't work for me. But as individuals they were both excellent.

I would recommend it highly. It's not really a comedy as the title might suggest. It is, as I said dark, but with some very warm feelings about giving. I gave it an 8

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.