Punchline (1988)

Steven Gold is a stand-up comedian who is flat broke and has recently dropped out of medical school. He and several others work regularly at the Gas Station, a New York comedy club. The ... See full summary »

Director:

David Seltzer

Writer:

David Seltzer

Stars:

Sally Field, Tom Hanks, John Goodman

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sally Field	...	Lilah Krytsick
Tom Hanks	...	Steven Gold
John Goodman	...	John Krytsick
Mark Rydell	...	Romeo
Kim Greist	...	Madeline Urie
Paul Mazursky	...	Arnold
Pam Matteson	...	Utica Blake
George McGrath	...	Singing Nun (as George Michael McGrath)
Taylor Negron	...	Albert Emperato
Barry Neikrug	...	Krug
Ángel Salazar	...	Rico (as Angel Salazar)
Damon Wayans	...	Percy
Joycee Katz	...	Joycee
Mac Robbins	...	Billy Lane
Max Alexander	...	Mister Ball

Storyline

Steven Gold is a stand-up comedian who is flat broke and has recently dropped out of medical school. He and several others work regularly at the Gas Station, a New York comedy club. The wages are lousy and everybody hopes for the big break. Lilah Krytsick is housewife with an ambition to be a stand-up comedian, however she doesnt seem to have the talent. Steven takes her under his wings and teaches her the art of comedy and humour. But when a TV station arranges a comedy evening at the club, Steve sees his opportunity for fame and stardom. Their friendship seems quickly forgotten and now it's every man and woman for him- or herself!

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Plot Keywords:

stand up | stand up comedian | comedian | woman | housewife | 

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Taglines:

It only hurts when you LAUGH!

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

R

Details

Official Sites:

Sony Movie Channel [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 October 1988 (USA)

Also Known As:

Punch Line

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$21,032,267

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation, Fogwood, IndieProd Company Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

128 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

One of the movie's taglines, "dying is easy - comedy is hard" is derived from the alleged true-life final living words of the great comic Shakespearean stage actor Edmund Kean who is said to have said at the end of his life: "Dying is easy. Comedy is hard".

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Goofs

When Sally Field comes home with a new haircut, she covers her face with a paper napkin. In varying scenes, she has it covered in different ways, and in some she does not have the napkin at all.

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Quotes

Lilah Krytsick: Hello, my name is Lilah Krytsick, and on our wedding night, my husband gave me something very long and hard... a new name.
[audience bursts into laughter]

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Connections

Featured in Siskel & Ebert: The Worst Films of 1988 (1989)

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Soundtracks

Saber Dance
(uncredited)
(from ballet "Gayaneh")
Music by Aram Khachaturyan

User Reviews

Making People Laugh Will Cost You Dearly!!!!

So much for my family, my kids, my sanity, and my discretionary money, what little of it I have...I want to tell jokes!!!...This bittersweet relationship between Tom Hanks and Sally Field has husband, John Goodman, totally perplexed...The nightclubs, the fast food, the partial housewife thing, the spending money on jokes..None of this makes any sense for a struggling married couple..Yet somehow, Sally Field must find herself..."Be supportive of my quirkiness!!"This was a precarious instinct that Sally Field felt compelled to necessitate!! The film "Punchline" spends most of the time making personality confusion the culprit to domestic shaky grounds, but in the end, it shows how Sally Field can be a good wife, a good mother and yet express a part of herself for herself by being a stand-up comic...The challenge stand-up comedy represents by being as painful as Russian roulette with five bullets, plays itself out as a frustrating dilemma that confuses both Tom Hanks and Sally Field!!!!...What was finally attainable in both their lives was recognition at a humanistic level...What is seemingly unacceptable to the run of the mill rational person, as opposed to a stand-up comic, is that there is no comprehension of the fact that a stand-up comic views the ability to make people laugh as one of the most coveted qualities in the world!! To be funny is more rewarding than wealth, power, and/or a wonderful physical appearance!!! Stand-Up Comedy is not necessarily a lucrative talent, and you do not have to constantly make people laugh, but when Sally Field won the contest that night, it meant she had the ability to be a stand-up comic,,this was important to her!!!! The desire Sally Field had to tell jokes at various New York nightclubs, transcended selfishness, and merely pointed out that having a family and a husband does not mean your life stops totally!!..Bottom line, if Sally Field were on trial for negligence and self centered preoccupation, she would have been acquitted!! Ultimately what gave her stand-up comic hobby a sense of gratification was the emerging approval and encouragement of her family!! The "Singin in the Rain" scene that Tom Hanks performed was FABULOUS!!! as this film just oozes with talent...This movie is identical to the plot of this movie...BEING DIFFERENT IS BETTER...JUST ASK SOMEONE WHO OWNS A ROLLS ROYCE!!!!