The Impostors is a film made purely for comedy's sake. The characters and plot both exist for one reason: to make the audience laugh. Films like The Naked Gun and Austin Powers were of this genre, and worked for one reason: they delivered the laughs. Plot development and sophisticated dialogue play no part in this type of comedy, so if the film isn't funny, there is nothing to fall back on. In this way, a movie like The Impostors must be funny throughout in order to distract the viewer from the silliness of the plot and characters.
The Impostors both fails and succeeds in this way; some parts are as hilarious as they are meant to be, while other parts leave the audience shifting in their seats. The unfunny scenes seem to carry on and on, giving the viewer time notice just how silly the film really is. This turns out to be one of the movies biggest problems.
Other films of this nature combat this problem by firing the jokes off one after another, so that if one joke bombs there is another to take its place. The Impostors needed to utilize this technique more. This is not to say that the film was a dud. Many scenes and characters are very funny, but the bad ones tended to be very noticeable.
The Impostors revolves around Maurice and Arthur, two veteran actors in Depression-era New York, trying to earn a living through acting. Parts are scarce though, and the two spend their days honing their skills by acting out 'scenes' with made up characters on the unsuspecting public. After a wild chain of events, Maurice and Arthur end up as hunted stowaways on an ocean liner headed to Paris, where they become entangled in the lives of the other quirky passengers.
The Impostors has the feel of a silent movie; every gesture, facial expression, and action seems to be exaggerated for comedic effect. Many of the scenes would be funny even without the dialogue. Slapstick humour runs throughout the movie creating that silent movie feel. The Impostors plays out like Saturday Night Live sketches pieced together to form a plot. This method has funny results, but when one 'sketch' fails the whole movie suffers.
Maurice and Arthur are played wonderfully by Oliver Platt and Stanley Tucci, respectively. The two characters weasel their way into the hearts of the viewers from the very beginning, just as characters in a good buddy movie should. Platt and Tucci's relationship is based on a Laurel and Hardy model, or for a modern reference, David Spade and Chris Farley. There are other great performances from characters on the ship. The Impostors has a good cast with Woody Allen, Steve Buscemi, Lili Taylor, and Isabella Rossellini in small, one dimensional roles. The funniest performance by far is Campbell Scott in his role as Meistrich, the German ship director. Meistrich comes complete with a monocle, a scar, a thick German accent and the attitude of World War Two General. When he is not hunting down the stowaways (Maurice and Arthur) his is trying to win over Lili Taylor's character, Lilly, with hilarious results.
The Impostors concludes with the cast suddenly dancing joyously off the set and around the studio where the filming took place. Obviously the actors enjoyed making the movie; the performances during the film and the dancing afterward attest to this. In fact, it seems they had more fun making the movie than audiences will have watching it. The Impostors makes a good effort, but in the end it isn't quite funny enough to pull the whole thing off.
The Impostors both fails and succeeds in this way; some parts are as hilarious as they are meant to be, while other parts leave the audience shifting in their seats. The unfunny scenes seem to carry on and on, giving the viewer time notice just how silly the film really is. This turns out to be one of the movies biggest problems.
Other films of this nature combat this problem by firing the jokes off one after another, so that if one joke bombs there is another to take its place. The Impostors needed to utilize this technique more. This is not to say that the film was a dud. Many scenes and characters are very funny, but the bad ones tended to be very noticeable.
The Impostors revolves around Maurice and Arthur, two veteran actors in Depression-era New York, trying to earn a living through acting. Parts are scarce though, and the two spend their days honing their skills by acting out 'scenes' with made up characters on the unsuspecting public. After a wild chain of events, Maurice and Arthur end up as hunted stowaways on an ocean liner headed to Paris, where they become entangled in the lives of the other quirky passengers.
The Impostors has the feel of a silent movie; every gesture, facial expression, and action seems to be exaggerated for comedic effect. Many of the scenes would be funny even without the dialogue. Slapstick humour runs throughout the movie creating that silent movie feel. The Impostors plays out like Saturday Night Live sketches pieced together to form a plot. This method has funny results, but when one 'sketch' fails the whole movie suffers.
Maurice and Arthur are played wonderfully by Oliver Platt and Stanley Tucci, respectively. The two characters weasel their way into the hearts of the viewers from the very beginning, just as characters in a good buddy movie should. Platt and Tucci's relationship is based on a Laurel and Hardy model, or for a modern reference, David Spade and Chris Farley. There are other great performances from characters on the ship. The Impostors has a good cast with Woody Allen, Steve Buscemi, Lili Taylor, and Isabella Rossellini in small, one dimensional roles. The funniest performance by far is Campbell Scott in his role as Meistrich, the German ship director. Meistrich comes complete with a monocle, a scar, a thick German accent and the attitude of World War Two General. When he is not hunting down the stowaways (Maurice and Arthur) his is trying to win over Lili Taylor's character, Lilly, with hilarious results.
The Impostors concludes with the cast suddenly dancing joyously off the set and around the studio where the filming took place. Obviously the actors enjoyed making the movie; the performances during the film and the dancing afterward attest to this. In fact, it seems they had more fun making the movie than audiences will have watching it. The Impostors makes a good effort, but in the end it isn't quite funny enough to pull the whole thing off.