THE IMPOSTERS A film review by Steve Rhodes Copyright 1998 Steve Rhodes RATING (0 TO ****): *
Perhaps if THE IMPOSTORS didn't have so much going for it, it wouldn't have been such a tremendous disappointment. Written, directed, and produced by one of its two stars, Stanley Tucci, whose last picture was the indie smash hit, BIG NIGHT, THE IMPOSTORS almost never catches fire. Sputtering like a two-day old campfire, the story plays like an ad-lib sketch that was never polished or completed.
The film's other star, Oliver Platt, was hilarious as the Senator's aide in BULWORTH. The bloated supporting cast is a veritable cornucopia of acting talent, including Woody Allen, Steve Buscemi, Hope Davis, Alfred Molina, Campbell Scott, Lili Taylor and Tony Shalhoub. All are wasted save Allen, who plays a theatrical director who stares in disbelief at the bad acting before his eyes. (The audience will easily identify with Allen's sentiments.)
With the exception of a single original joke involving mirror-imaged subtitles, the movie engenders little genuine laughter. The stale humor is so embarrassingly bad that you will find yourself laughing sporadically at the picture rather than with it.
The plot for the movie involves two starving actors, Maurice (Oliver Platt) and Arthur (Stanley Tucci), who accidentally end up on a cruise ship. In order to escape an angry Shakespearean actor (Alfred Molina), who is chasing them, they dress up as ship's stewards.
The over-the-top script has the subtlety of a sledgehammer. When the leads hide from their pursuers, Arthur covers Maurice's mouth as he suffers an unending sneeze. At other times, we have the typical zany comedy routine where everyone chases everyone else, while darting in and out of staterooms.
With the film's chapters introduced like placards at a vaudeville stage, it is clear the movie wants to be taken as farce. The press notes describes how everyone that came on the set remarked at what a good time all of the actors were having. Too bad they weren't more concerned with the audience's potential enjoyment. The jokes, frequently framed in silence, fall like stones with such intensity that one can almost hear them hitting the ground.
One wonders if anyone ever viewed the film's dailies. Surely, if they had, they would have realized what leaden results they were producing.
It is tricky having good actors play bad ones, but, if they couldn't pull it off, they should have just given up. "The show is over for this fella," Steve Buscemi's character says towards the end. The mystery is why they didn't all give up in the beginning. There must have been a better script somewhere for such a wonderful cast.
THE IMPOSTORS runs 1:42. It is rated R for a little profanity and would be fine for kids around 12 and up.
Email: Steve.Rhodes@InternetReviews.com Web: www.InternetReviews.com
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