Main Cast: Carol Burnett, Michael Caine, Denholm Elliott, Julie Hagerty, Marilu Henner, Mark Linn-Baker
Release Year: 1992
Country: US
Run Time: 101 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG13
Plot
Michael Frayn's frantic West End and Broadway farce makes a literal transformation to the screen in Peter Bogdanoch's faithful adaptation, which is transplanted from the London suburbs to Des Moines, Iowa to accommodate the (mostly) American cast. Michael Caine stars as director Lloyd Fellowes, assigned to bring the successful British sex farce "Nothing On" to the boards in America. In an intricate technical rehearsal, Lloyd puts his cast through their paces -- Garry Lejuene (John Ritter), an obliging feature actor; Dotty Otley (Carol Burnett), a fading theatrical star; Frederick Dallas (Christopher Reeve), a handsome leading man who demands to know the motivation behind every scene; Brooke Ashton (Nicollette Sheridan), the sexy leading lady; Belinda Blair (Marilu Henner), the seen-it-all second female lead; and Seldson Mawbray (Denholm Elliot), the inebriated character actor. The technical rehearsal goes off without a hitch, but as the play travels the country in pre-Broadway performances, the eccentricities of the cast come to the fore and the performances in Des Moines and Cleveland are complete disasters. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
Review
Peter Bogdanovich has had his ups and downs in his career, but a nice little feather in his cap is Noises Off, a fast-paced comedy adapted from the stage play by Michael Frayn. The film chronicles the journey of a British farce from tryouts in the Midwest to its Broadway opening and the comical disasters that ensue amongst the cast, crew, and director. Michael Caine is perfectly cast as the play's director, Lloyd Fellowes, and he delivers the best overall performance. His mannerisms and facial expressions demonstrate a comic timing that is right on. Bogdanovich deftly manages his ensemble cast, which, in addition to Caine, features Carol Burnett as an aging leading lady, John Ritter as her offstage paramour, Christopher Reeve in a rather dimwitted role, and Denholm Elliot as the old school, somewhat senile, has-been. There are tons of belly laughs and sight gags. The acting takes a bit of a backseat to the physical comedy, particularly in a long extended "backstage" sequence where there are myriad sight gags and virtually no dialogue. It's obviously a very difficult orchestration, but Bogdanovich acquits himself well as the editing and the pacing are fairly seamless. Marilu Henner is very funny as the "gossip," and the cast is rounded out by Julie Hagerty, Mark Linn-Baker as the beleaguered stagehand, and Nicollette Sheridan, who spends most of the film in her underwear. At times it seems like the cast is trying a bit too hard and the whole thing moves so fast it can lose an inattentive viewer, but these are minor points. It's a bit odd that a film with a prominent director and a top-of-the-line cast should have had so little success in theatrical release, but it's a treat worth searching out on video when the occasion calls for a few genuine laughs. ~ Dan Friedman, All Movie Guide
Christopher Reeve - Philip Brent; John Ritter - Garry Lejeune; Nicollette Sheridan - Vicki; Dianna Agostini - Broadway Theatergoer; Carol Burnett - Mrs. Clackett; Zoe Cassavetes - Miami Stagehand; Dick Corman - Additional Stagehand; Keith Crowningshield - Broadway Usher; Rosie de Sanctis - Backstage Visitor; Bronson Dudler - Bum at Curb; Drummond Erskine - Backstage Doorman; Matthew Robert Gottlieb - Additional Stagehand; Joe Hanna - Company Soundman; Marilu Henner - Flavia Brent; Andrew Mapp - Broadway Usher; Dana Marley - Additional Stagehand; Jack McCall - Broadway Usher; Roger Michelson - Company Lighting Technician; Kimberly Neville - Miami Usher; Cleveland O'Neal - Miami Electrician; Kate Rich - Des Moines Stagehand; Kim Sebastian - Cleveland Stagehand; L.B. Straten - Broadway Stagehand; J. Christopher Sullivan - Miami Backstage Guard; Wendy Wilson - Additional Stagehand
Credit
Daniel Maltese - Art Director, L.B. Straten - Associate Producer, Joan Bradshaw - Associate Producer, Steve Starkey - Co-producer, Betsy Cox - Costume Designer, Peter Bogdanovich - Director, Lisa Day - Editor, Phil Marshall - Composer (Music Score), Norman Newberry - Production Designer, Tim Suhrstedt - Cinematographer, Peter Bogdanovich - Producer, Kathleen Kennedy - Producer, Frank Marshall - Producer, Jim Duffy - Set Designer, Jim Webb - Sound/Sound Designer, Marty Kaplan - Screenwriter, Michael Frayn - Screenwriter, Richard L. Anderson - Supervising Sound Editor, Michael Frayn - Play Author
The film follows the concept of a play within a play, in this case a dreadful sex farce entitled Nothing On — the type of production in which young girls run about in their underwear, old men drop their trousers, and many doors continually open and shut. The setting has been transplanted from the backcountry of Great Britain to Des Moines, Iowa, where a second-rate theatrical troupe is preparing to perform the Broadway-bound play under the direction of Lloyd Dallas. Among the cast members are fading star Dotty Otley, scatter-brained actor Garry Lejuene, insecure matinee hearthrob Frederick Fellowes, myopic sexy leading lady Brooke Ashton, second female lead Belinda Blair, and alcoholic character actor Selsdon Mawbray. Frantically working behind the scenes are Tim Allgood and Poppy Taylor.
The film opens with the final dress rehearsal prior to opening night, with the cast still forgetting lines, missing cues, and mishandling props. Lloyd is reduced to cajoling, yelling at, and pleading with them to get things right. Complicating matters are the personal problems and backstage relationships that have fostered jealousy and petty squabbling and intruded upon any professionalism this motley crew can muster. As the company works its way to New York City, the eccentricities of the cast come to the fore and the performances on the road dissolve into complete chaos both on and backstage.
In his review in the New York Times, Vincent Canby noted, "There are a number of hefty laughs scattered throughout . . . this woozy film adaptation" and added, "Noises Off is a practically perfect stage piece, constructed with such delicacy that any opportunistic adjustment can destroy it, which is what happens here . . . It may not even be Mr. Bogdanovich's fault. He hasn't opened up the play in any foolish way. There are even times when the camera successfully catches the tempo of the lunatic action without being overwhelmed by it. Yet too often the action and the dialogue are so fuzzily understood that the laughs are lost. The film's problem is more basic: the attempt to Americanize a fine English farce about provincial seediness. It can't be done."[1]
Rita Kempley of the Washington Post observed, "The performers all seem to be relishing this sendup, but we're always aware that it is a vehicle better suited to the stage."[2]
In The New Yorker, Michael Sragow said, "Most of the time, Bogdanovich sticks to Frayn’s gleefully proscenium-bound play without making it work for the movies. The result is roughly equivalent to the pan and scan TV version of a wide-screen spectacle. Bogdanovich has cast actors you want to see . . . in a production that grows increasingly impossible to watch."[3]
In his review of the video release, Lawrence O'Toole of Entertainment Weekly said, "Nothing is as murderous on a farce as film. Its mechanics can work beautifully from the distance of the stage . . . but the closeness of the home screen points up every flaw in Peter Bogdanovich's futile adaptation: anorectic visuals, bloated acting, broad timing, and often dull direction. The cast members . . . are all game, but it's exhausting watching actors try so hard."[4]
Time Out London says the film "undoubtedly has its moments, but will still disappoint those who laughed themselves silly at the original."[5]
Channel 4 notes, "Frayn's frenetic sex farce was always going to be a difficult act to pull off on the big screen, but Bogdanovich and an enthusiastic cast do their damnedest to sustain the mayhem and the momentum. Those who remember the original theatrical hit are bound to be disappointed by the lack of immediacy and the occasional sense of artifice, but this is perfectly serviceable."[6]
