Noises Off

If you think working on stage is easier than working on screen, think again. You have to remember many lines without getting a break. You only have one shot to get it right.

Just imagine how much of a headache Lloyd Fellowes (Michael Caine) had throughout Peter Bogdanovich's Noises Off. Even during the actual performance his actors can't keep their minds focused strictly on the play. The off-stage drama seep into the on-stage antics.

Think of any possible dilemma, and it's very likely those involved with the production of Nothing On (the play within the movie) went through with it. Affairs, drinking problems, stress from rehearsals...you name it, they through it. Oh, the theater life must be a glamorous one. (Not really.)

The cast Bogdanovich wrangled together is pretty good. Caine is quite good as is Carol Burnett. My favorites, however, were John Ritter and Christopher Reeve as two of the bumbling actors of Nothing On. Their comedic timing was priceless.

Noises Off as a whole is an all right movie. It got a little too screwball as it wore on, but the performances kept my interest throughout. Is it something I'd recommend? Sure, but mainly to those who want a laugh and only that.

My Rating: ****

Paper Moon

Along with casting real-life couples as lovers, another casting idea is to have real-life family members cast as family members in movies. There are a number of famous Hollywood families (the Coppolas, the Hustons, the Fondas), some of them still working today.

Con man Moses Pray (Ryan O'Neal) reluctantly agrees to bring recently orphaned Addie Loggins (Tatum O'Neal) to Missouri. He isn't fond of her at the start, but she manages to rake in more money. Problems arise when dancer Trixie Delight (Madeline Kahn) enters the picture.

One of the main issues with Tatum's Oscar win is that it's misleading; she won for Supporting Actress even though she's in almost the entire movie. My theory is she got placed in Supporting because she hadn't been in any other movies before Paper Moon. Anyway, moving on. The rest of Paper Moon is fun and light. But considering it was released the same year as The Sting (both movies focus on con artists from the Great Depression era), it feels like it has been done already.

My Rating: ****