The Impostors | | Cast : | Stanley Tucci, Oliver Platt | | Director : | Stanley Tucci | | Studio : | Twentieth Century Fox | | Format : | Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen | | Released Date : | October 02, 1998 | | DVD Released Date : | December 17, 2002 | | Language : | English (Subtitled), English (Dubbed), English (Original Language), French (Original Language), Spanish (Subtitled) | | Audience Rating : | R (Restricted) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | July 29, 2005 | | Summary | These imposters are the real thing! | Content
 | How nice it is to sit and watch a film that doesn't take itself too seriously. Surely not a great movie but filled with performers putting on their broadest, brashest, biggest face they can. Similar in flavor to many Marx Bros. and Laurel & Hardy stories... Mash them together with a stage farce and this is what you get. A good independant film. |
| Rating | | | Date | December 29, 2004 | | Summary | Lighthearted, fun ode to old screwball comedies | Content
| Comedy fans who aren't much interested in classic films may not really "get" this film. They may get turned off by what they see as exaggerated acting and meandering plot, not understanding that both are done on purpose. Hopefully not though, as this film is still funny on the surface.
This is, however, an absolute "must-see" for anyone who likes the Marx brothers, Laurel & Hardy, or any of those great screwball comedies from the 30's and 40's. For most films of that genre, the plots only served as a template for a series of funny exchanges or situations. Stanley Tucci, and Oliver Platt deliver hilarious performances as poor, bumbling actors whose ambition far outweigh their intelligence. They use their wits, such as they are, to hide on a cruise ship from a famous alcoholic actor they rumbled with (the wonderfully hammy Alfred Molina) and a campy German cruise employee (Campbell Scott), who would seem better served running a Gestapo. The stowaways find help from another ship employee (Lili Taylor, playing against type, looking adorably lovely) and her weak but friendly Italian boyfriend. One would fear that their romance would spoil parts of the movie as such sublots are prone to do, but thankfully, the makers stuck to comedy the whole way.
Probably the most impressive aspect of this relatively lesser-known film is the great supporting cast. In addition to Molina, Scott and Taylor, we get fine (as well as fun to watch) performances from Steve Buscemi, Alison Janney, Billy Connolly, Richard Jenkins and Tony Shalhoub. In addition, Hope Davis, Woody Allen, and Isabella Rossellini have minor roles.
This film will entertain people on differing levels, depending on their comedy taste, but I would definitely recommend this one who has enjoyed an old film, or seeks out humor off-the-beaten-path.
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| Rating | | | Date | September 24, 2004 | | Summary | Screwball Comedy with a Woody Twist | Content
| Tucci, one of my favorite (and I think most underrated) actors, does a fine job emulating the styles of Woody Allen and Frank Capra in this homage to the madcap comedies of the 30's. The brisk pacing, snappy dialogue and exaggerated characters make the film a treat.
Dozens of terrific cameo performances by stars like Isabella Rosselini, Campbell Scott, and even the great Woody, himself, are sprinkled throughout. Authentic art-deco sets, costumes and music are pluses as well.
It's the best attempt at the genre in many years, but one still longs for the comedic talent of Hepburn, Lombard or Cary Grant. |
| Rating | | | Date | December 07, 2003 | | Summary | Wonderful Little Comedy | Content
| I haven't seen any of the Marx Brothers films that many reviewers have referred to, but I imagine they're fantastic. Stanley Tucci and Oliver Platt deliver a terrifically wacky yet clever performance about two starving actors who become stoweaways on an ocean liner. This movie performs like a comedy should...funny, light-hearted and cheerful. A great movie to watch if you want to laugh after a hard day. Plus, it's nice to see some of your favorite drama stars perform as more humorous characters. |
| Rating | | | Date | October 11, 2003 | | Summary | Laurel & Hardy Meets Lubitsch, But It Somehow Doesn't Work | Content
| This comedy should have been great. Actually, it starts wonderfully, with Stanley Tucci and Oliver Platt playing unemployed actors during the Depression-era, and the opening credits show a brilliant Laurel and Hardy-like silent comedy. Then, the film traces their struggle to keep their heads above water, with assorted episodes of their life, one of which include a big surprise cameo of W.A. who plays a henpecked stage director. So far, everything is really great. Then "The Impostors" gradually loses its power though it never fails to be charming. The pair go to see one of the most terrible stage of Hamlet (done by Alfred Molina), and after being mistaken for criminal for assaulting this ham, they accidentally find themselved on the ocean line leaving for Paris. On this ship, Tucci and Pratt meet many, many strange characters. I only cite the names of actors: Steve Buscemi (as suicidal 'Happy' Frank, who entertains us with crooning), Isabella Rossellini, Lili Taylor, Cambell Scott, Tony Shalhoub, Billy Connolly, Hope Davis and others. The star/director Stanley Tucci is always amusing with manic turns, and so is Pratt, but the screwball comedy situaltion which directors like Ernst Lutbisch was good at needs quite a sophisticated and tightly-woven script. "The Impostors" doesn't have that, and as the film nears to the end, it becomes more like a farce, which itself is not bad, and I like that kind of comdey, but the lack of polished story is painfully obvious when we see Connolly plays a tennis pro (and Greek) whose character is based on now hackneyed gay jokes. "The Impostors" is not a bad film. It shows intelligence of the director, and there are some brilliant moments. But it stops short before the lofty aim of ressurrecting the old-style comedy. |
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