Scanialara You won't be disappointed!

Baseshment I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

Erica Derrick By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Mathilde the Guild Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

HotToastyRag Noises Off. . . is the film version of Michael Frayn's play, but before you write this movie off, hear me out. I know lots of plays are boring and wordy and absolutely painful to get through, if you can get through them at all. Noises Off. . . is not that type of play.Whether you see it onstage—with a good cast and timing—or rent the film, this is an absolutely hilarious show. Use the bathroom beforehand, because it's one of the most side-splittingly funny films ever. The key to a fantastic execution of this quick, witty script is an excellent cast and a director who can create impeccable timing. Peter Bogdanavich and his all-star case have made a flawless movie.Michael Caine stars as the proverbial shouting, hair-pulling, unreachable director of a play. His assistant is the nervous, mousy Julie Hagerty, who can never get a word in. The actors in his show are Carol Burnett, Denholm Elliot, Marilu Henner, Christopher Reeve, John Ritter, and Nicollette Sheridan. They all flesh out their archetypes beautifully, with Carol as the know-it-all, Marilu as the classic diva, Chris as the well-meaning idiot, and Nicollette as the bimbo who's only been cast because she looks good in her underwear.The first part of the film is the rehearsal for the show, and while there are many stops and starts, the audience can see that the cast is nowhere near ready for their performance. Then, the tables are turned —literally—and the audience is placed backstage. The same play is run through, but this time, we see the never-ending drama that occurs backstage in every production known to man. It's hilarious for non-theater people, but even more funny and true-to-life for those who have ever dabbled in the arts.I can't recommend this comedy highly enough; even if you don't normally like plays, give it a chance. It's so adorable and flawlessly executed. I guarantee it'll change the way you think of theater—unless you're in that world yourself. In that case, it'll remind you of every show you've ever been in.

aveou This is by far the funniest movie I've seen! A tribute to the actors participating in the film, since half of them are dead (this was actually Denholm Elliott's last film, may he R.I.P.), the film brings out the best talent in everyone, without exaggerations or pompous displays.A group of fantastic actors play in this film and, curious enough, this is not a well known film. I had to see the film four times, in order to finally watch a scene I've always missed due to uncontrollable nervous laughter! The mess created due to human urges and needs provides this film an extraordinaire plot that will KNOCK YOUR SOCKS OFF!!!

Neil Welch I first encountered Noises Off... being performed by an amateur dramatic society at my local theatre.It starts off in a way which will be familiar to many theatregoers - a housekeeper is looking after the house of a wealthy couple who are away from England in tax exile. The estate agent who is dealing with letting the house arrives for an assignation with his girlfriend. Then the couple themselves arrive back unannounced and secretly. The estate agent's girlfriend works for the tax authorities.... and her father is a burglar... All the ingredients of a (to be frank) not very good stage farce are introduced. Then it becomes clear that we are not watching a farce, we are watching the final dress rehearsal for the first night of a professional company taking a farce on tour. As well as meeting the first act of the farce - its plot, dialogue and characters - we also meet the actors playing in it, the director, and the stage manager - and their various relationships.The second act of the film meets the company in mid-tour. They now have the farce performance slickly nailed down, but relationships between the company are disintegrating. The genius of act 2 is that it takes place behind stage - much of it is performed mute - we hear the dialogue of act 1 of the farce taking place on the other side of the scenery flats: despite personal problems, the play is still being performed with great professionalism (except by the alcoholic playing the burglar).By act 3, which is act 1 of the farce yet again, seen from the audience once more, the play has reached theatreland (the West End / Broadway), but relationships between the cast have deteriorated to the extent that they are now sabotaging each others' performances.This is a sparkling play - brilliantly clever, and screamingly funny on so many levels. The film, too, captures the best of the play, with a sparkling cast all performing at the top of their game.The play - and the film - are a delight, and are highly recommended.

irvthom1-1 Having seen this twice as a stage production (and by two different companies!), I have to say that you are really better off seeing it done on stage. The film is good, but it actually suffers by comparison. I think a part of the reason might be that I HAD seen it previously, so that it did not hit me like it may hit most first-timers, and also that I had high expectations for it. But I think it actually works better on a real stage. The timing becomes REAL in a way that the known proficiency of camera technique is not able to match. This is a psychological effect, to be sure, but it cannot be discounted. Film editing, splicing, etc, along with retakes up to the necessary hilt are factors in the back of our mind in the watching of any film. But when this play is effectively performed in the get-it-right necessity of a real-life production, the effect is actually overpowering, and the humor is stunning. Go see it on stage if you get the chance.That is really all I have to say about it, but since ten lines of text are required (which must be a new requirement, because many of the comments I've seen appear to be much shorter) I guess I'll just have to keep going . . . or else this very significant review will never get out there for you to see. It feels sort of like having to keep a filibuster going, in which they just talk about anything in order to use up time. A rather stupid rule, I should say. A good writer hardly needs to extend his wordage. I mean, I've said it as I wanted to say it.