Boy did I love Big Night. What a pleasent suprize that one was. I'm rooting for Stanley Tucci's new one too. The Imposters won't have all that great food in it but it will be full of great little performances from alot of familar faces. Mr.Jenkins files the following report, which while it may be biased still makes me feel pretty good.
Last night I attended a cast & crew screening of Fox Searchlight's THE IMPOSTORS, actor/director Stanley Tucci's follow up to his first directorial effort BIG NIGHT. The movie is a slapstick comedy (a rare breed these days) set in the '30's. It's basically a Laurel and Hardy movie with a bit of Woody Allen thrown in (including Woody Allen himself, who makes a brief cameo).
The story is simple: two unemployed actors, Arthur and Maurice (Stanley Tucci and Oliver Platt) are nearing the end of their ropes in Manhattan, unable to find work as actors, and unwilling to take on any more conventional forms of employment. They resort to trying to scam a baker out of his wares just to get something to eat. The effort, of course, backfires, but they do get two tickets to see Jeremy Burtom (played by Alfred Molina) play Hamlet on Broadway. Even though they consider him an overrated no-talent (and they're not wrong) they go and see the play anyway. After the play, they insult Burtom in a bar, unaware that he is standing next to them, listening. Furious, Burtom gets the police after them. Arthur and Maurice hide from the police in a crate on the docks and fall asleep. When they awake the next morning, they find themselves on a cruise ship preparing to leave New York.
It goes without saying that they fail to get off the ship before it sails. It also goes without saying that every single character on the ship is somehow insane, and to further complicate matters, Jeremy Burtom is also on the voyage. He spots the two stowaways and gets the crew after them, forcing them to masquerade as stewards. Wackiness insues as our two heroes try to elude Burtom, thwart a couple who are aboard intent on seducing and murdering rich passengers, and stop the insane First Mate from blowing the ship up for reasons of his own (something involving a revolution in an imaginary country probably somewhere in Eastern Europe). Some films with countless reversals and cases of mistaken identity quickly become tiresome, but Mr. Tucci has managed to avoid that trap.
Suffice it to say that all ends well. The movie is, however, a showcase for a fabulous cast - besides the three mentioned, there's Lili Taylor, Campbell Scott, Richard Jenkins, Allison Jenney, Hope Davis, Steve Buscemi, Isabella Rossellini, Billy Connolly, Dana Ivey, and Tony Shalhoub, among others. Campbell Scott is particularly hilarious as Teutonic (Nazi) First Steward, and Billy Connolly is absolutely fantastic as a gay tennis pro on the hunt for available men.
Having worked on set every day, there were people who wondered if what we were seeing, although hilarious in person, would translate to the screen. I'm happy to report that I believe it has.
I think Stanley Tucci should be applauded for his efforts. After the lavishly praised BIG NIGHT (which Campbell Scott co-directed and Oliver Platt produced), I hope he doesn't fall victim of the usual critic's pattern. Since the directing debut was hailed as a resounding success, they slam the sophomore effort no matter how good it may be. (Okay, Tarantino avoided that syndrome. But most don't).
THE IMPOSTORS won't redefine cinema as we know it, and it's not trying to. It's a quirky, small little film that just happens to be hilarious, filled with excellent actors playing marvelously against type. I hope people give it a chance and check it out.
MrJenkins
