The Impostors (1998)

In an attempt to resurrect the slapstick comedy of Laurel and Hardy or The Marx Brothers, Stanley Tucci and Oliver Platt team-up as two out-of-work actors who accidentally stowaway on a ... See full summary »

Director:

Stanley Tucci

Writer:

Stanley Tucci

Stars:

Oliver Platt, Stanley Tucci, Walker Jones

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Oliver Platt	...	Maurice
Stanley Tucci	...	Arthur
Walker Jones	...	Maitre D'
Jessica Walling	...	Attractive Woman
David Lipman	...	Baker in Kramer's Pastries
E. Katherine Kerr	...	Gertrude in "Hamlet"
George Guidall	...	Claudius in "Hamlet"
William Hill	...	Bernardo in "Hamlet"
Alfred Molina	...	Sir Jeremy Burtom
Michael Emerson	...	Burtom's Assistant
Jack O'Connell	...	Stage Manager
Matt Malloy	...	Mike / Laertes in "Hamlet"
Ted Blumberg	...	Francisco in "Hamlet"
Lili Taylor	...	Lily 'Lil'
Tony Shalhoub	...	Voltri, First Mate

Storyline

In an attempt to resurrect the slapstick comedy of Laurel and Hardy or The Marx Brothers, Stanley Tucci and Oliver Platt team-up as two out-of-work actors who accidentally stowaway on a ship to hide from a drunken, belligerent lead actor who has sworn to kill them for belittling his talents. Of course, the lead actor end up on the ship as well. Also, a madman (Tony Shalhoub) plots the destruction of the ship and Steve Buscemi is a depressed, suicidal lounge singer named Happy Frank.

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Plot Keywords:

ship | actor | singer | written and directed by cast member | bomb | 

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Taglines:

Now the time has come...to act.

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Genres:

Comedy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 October 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ship of Fools

Filming Locations:

Murdoch Hall - 114 Clifton Place, Jersey City, New Jersey, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$308,767, 4 October 1998, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$2,197,921, 10 January 1999

Company Credits

Production Co:

First Cold Piece, Fox Searchlight Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The incident in which Alfred Molina's character slaps Mike Malloy's with a sword during a performance is based on a real-life incident in which actor Nicol Williamson struck a fellow actor on the buttocks with a sword during a performance of "I Hate Hamlet." Williamson also exemplified his disdain for the play and his cast mates by breaking character and badmouthing the material on and off stage.

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Goofs

The song, "Skokiaan" is used in the movie which takes place in the 1930s. However, "Skokiaan" was not released until 1947.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Maurice: [as they discuss an act which they did] I'm sorry.
Arthur: You stole my death.

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Crazy Credits

As the closing credits roll, the entire cast performs a line dance, starting on the ocean liner set and working their way out of the soundstage.

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Connections

Referenced in Saturday Night Live: Sam Rockwell/Halsey (2018)

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Soundtracks

China Boy
Written by Dick Winfree and Phil Boutelje
Performed by Eddie Condon and His Allstars
Courtesy of Verve Records
By Arrangement with Polygram Film & TV Music

User Reviews

Cute enough. A diversion.

I agree with the comparisons of Platt and Tucci to Laurel and Hardy. Their faces and mannerisms and teamwork are all reminiscent of the old comedy teams. The film is decent, good enough, but not something I'd want to see again. It reminds me of those scraps of piecrust that are left over after your mom made a pie. She'd cut them into strips and sprinkle them with cinnamon sugar and bake them. Those sweet scraps relate to the pie in the same way that "The Imposters" relates to "Big Night." You get the feeling that this gang of actors wanted to do something else together, something fun, and this film is the result.