Noises Off... (1992) 7.1
A travelling theater group find so much action going on behind-the-scenes, they almost ruin the performances. Director:Peter Bogdanovich |
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Noises Off... (1992) 7.1
A travelling theater group find so much action going on behind-the-scenes, they almost ruin the performances. Director:Peter Bogdanovich |
|
| 0Share... |
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Carol Burnett | ... |
Dotty Otley /
Mrs. Clackett
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| Michael Caine | ... | ||
| Denholm Elliott | ... |
Selsdon Mowbray /
The Burglar
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| Julie Hagerty | ... | ||
| Marilu Henner | ... |
Belinda Blair /
Flavia Brent
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| Mark Linn-Baker | ... | ||
| Christopher Reeve | ... |
Frederick Dallas /
Philip Brent
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| John Ritter | ... |
Garry Lejeune /
Roger Tramplemain
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| Nicollette Sheridan | ... |
Brooke Ashton /
Vicki
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Kate Rich | ... |
Des Moines Stagehand
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| Zoe R. Cassavetes | ... |
Miami Stagehand
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Kim Sebastian | ... |
Cleveland Stagehand
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| Louise Stratten | ... |
Broadway Stagehand
(as L.B. Straten)
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J. Christopher Sullivan | ... |
Miami Backstage Guard
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Kimberly Neville | ... |
Miami Usher
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Lloyd Fellowes is the director of a theatre company. He's desperately trying to get his production together, despite the best efforts of the cast, the crew, and Lady Luck. We follow the production from final rehersals, through opening night, and onto the tour: as with any group of actors forced to work closely together for any great length of time, romances and arguments are bound to break out. Quite often, what's happening on stage is nothing compared to what's happening backstage.... Written by Murray Chapman <muzzle@cs.uq.oz.au>
"Noises Off..." is one crazy movie. Based on Michael Frynn's play, it's about an inept travelling theater group doing stage productions of a British sex farce. The problem with this play is that as each month passes by while stopping from city to city, the actors start getting at each others throats. Michael Caine is hilariously funny as the frustrated director who gets to the point where he can't bear to deal with his clumsy actors because of the tumult backstage. "Noises Off..." is filmed in three different parts. First there's the rehearsal just before opening night in Des Moines, Iowa. Next there's a stop in Miami Beach where we see almost all the action taking place backstage. Finally there's the stop in Cleveland where the show practically falls flat on its face. This final part of the movie felt like torture to me. Nevertheless, "Noises Off..." is very funny most of the time and I did laugh alot. Besides Caine, the great cast also features Carol Burnett, John Ritter, Christopher Reeve, Julie Hagerty, Marilu Henner, Denholm Elliott, Mark Linn-Baker, and Nicollette Sheridan. All give funny performances and that helps to make "Noises Off..." a very good comedy.
*** (out of four)