The Man Who Came to Dinner (2000 TV Movie) User Reviews

Good entertainment, but a bit forced

[BruceUllm · 7/10 · 2 August 2007]

I enjoyed the taped stage play setting and all of the characters were immediately familiar to me, having just viewed the 1942 version. I rarely miss anything that Nathan Lane does and thought him perfect casting as Sheridan Whiteside.

However...it all seemed a bit forced to me. Lane's delivery was good and his mugging very funny, but he was working all the time. It just didn't seem to come naturally. The "Banjo" character was just an impersonation of Durante and an average one at that. As with the '42 film, I feel this character was superfluous.

The overall impression for me was one of a very good amateur company doing their very best to put on a show. I never forgot it was a play, whereas in the '42 version, I got more involved in the story.

As for the inter-act comments from the host and hostess, I skipped those immediately (so grateful for DVD technology!). The newsreel footage and swing music were delightful between the acts, though.

Best of the best

[RobT-2 · 9/10 · 12 June 2001]

As someone who goes out of his way to see performances of "The Man Who Came to Dinner"--one of the greatest comic concoctions of the 20th century--I thought this was the best media presentation of the play to date, much better than the 1940 film version. My only quibble concerns the decision to pattern Lewis Stadlen's Banjo after Jimmy Durante's version in the film, rather than Harpo Marx (upon whom the character was originally modelled), but that's a matter of personal taste. (And to be fair, Stadlen does just fine, perhaps even out-Duranting Durante.) Conversely, I can't imagine anyone better in the title role than Nathan Lane, and he lives up to my hopes splendidly. (I hope PBS broadcasts him in "The Producers" one of these days!)

Utterly and completely fantabulous

[Jimmy-128 · 8/10 · 8 November 2000]

If you're in a mood to laugh yourself silly, this is the play for you. Nathan Lane is at his scenery-chewing best as Sheridan Whiteside (modeled on Alexander Woolcott), a critic, commentator, and friend of the great and near-great who is forced to spend several weeks in the home of a Middle America family for whom "Goodbye Mister Chips" is as high on the cultural scale as they go. Lewis Stadlen is equally hilarious as the manic, irrepressible Banjo (a takeoff of one of the Marx Brothers, but I'm not sure which). Jean Smart is wonderful as the haughty and man-eating Lorraine Sheldon, and Harriet Harris is superb as Maggie Cutler, Whiteside's devoted secretary and Lorraine's nemesis.

To get all the references, you'll need a copy of Who Was Who in Theater, Film, and Opera, but I'm glad they didn't try to update them. It just wouldn't have worked.

Finally, kudos to Ryan Shively (as Sandy, union organizer and June's fiancee)! A talented actor and an all-around great guy (okay, he's my roommate, so I'm a little biased)!

Live from Broadway

[mermatt · 8 October 2000]

PBS is to be commended for its "Stage on Screen" series premiere with this live broadcast from the newly restored 42nd Street theater district in New York City. While Nathan Lane has less of the imperious acidic bite that Monty Woolley brought to the 1942 film, Lane and the play still have punch and sparkle.

Of necessity, the live stage performance lacks the brisk pace of the movie simply because of the stops for scene changes or intermissions between acts. In addition, the classic film was pared down for length. In this broadcast, the interruptions were at least filled with chatty information about the play, the people represented in the play, and the resurrection of 42nd Street.

Despite or because of its dated allusions and overt references, the play is a delightful slice of real life in America just prior to World War II. The work stands up well and is likely to be a classic of 20th Century American theater.

A Great Performance By Nathan Lane

[theowinthrop · 10/10 · 10 March 2006]

The 1942 film THE MAN WHO CAME TO DINNER was possibly the best comedy film that Bette Davis ever appeared in, but while she got starring position in the film's credits, the real star (who went to town as a result) was the great Monty Woolley, recreating his magnificent acid tongued curmudgeon Sheridan Whiteside. It was one of the rare occasions when a stage performance of importance was saved on film.

Fifty eight years later (forgetting one disastrous television version with Orson Welles as Whiteside in 1972) PBS showed this production of the stage revival of the play with Nathan Lane in the Whiteside role. Lane played the role perfectly, basing it (physically) closer to the original figure Whiteside is based on - writer, critic, actor, radio personality, and Algonquin Round Table Wit Alexander Woolcott. His facial appearance included wearing the round eye frame glasses that Woolcott wore all the time. Lane did not have the crusty, elderly asperity of the great Woolley, but he did have a malevolent elfin charm reminiscent of Woolcott (a man who was all too easy to dislike - Woolcott was also the model for Waldo Lydecker in LAURA, which just goes to show his popularity).

One of the problems with comedy (or drama generally speaking) is the fact that the works can be dated in their references. When, in one of his plays, Shakespeare refers to "the Great Sophy" it is to some long ago forgotten English traveler and diplomat named Shirley who went to Persia. Most of us see the foot note of this 16th Century reference and try to concentrate on the rest of the play that still is strong and relevant to us. But with THE MAN WHO CAME TO DINNER the great problem is the barrage of trivia that comes out of the play. Woolcott's two Algonquin friends (Kaufman and Moss Hart) added small bits of biography to his stage version, which everyone who knew Woolcott would recognize. The theater critic knew everyone of importance in the theater. So he has a scene with a clone of Noel Coward named Beverley Carlton (to add to perfecting the imitation of Coward, Kaufman and Hart asked Cole Porter, a close friend of Monty Woolley, to write a song for "Carlton" to sing to Whiteside, that was in Coward's distinct delicate style). The close friend of Whiteside who shows up as a comic "deus ex ma china" in the play is "Banjo." This was based on Woolcott's close Algonquin friend Harpo Marx.

But most of the references are quite arcane. Who is Elizabeth Sedley? Well, it is a reference to a celebrated murder case defendant, whose career would have intrigued Woolcott, the great amateur criminologist. What are the references to Beebe and Byrd? This version got around the problems using mock 1930s newspaper headlines chronicling William Beebe the oceanographer and Admiral Richard Byrd, the Polar explorer. This sounds cumbersome, but it was far more effective and useful to the viewers than the idiocy of the 1972 Welles' version where the script was "up-dated" meaninglessly.

The program was an excellent version of the classic comedy, and well worth comparing with the Woolley film. I feel that it deserves a "10".

There is absolutely nothing like live theater.

[mark.waltz · 10/10 · 15 June 2019]

I am the man who came to Broadway and never left. As a fan of the theater, I love the opportunity to revisit plays that I have seen when they have been filmed for television and the opportunity to see professionally filmed presentations of plays that for some reason I missed. For this revival of the famous George s Kaufman/Moss Hart play, the Roundabout Theater Company went all out in presenting a glamorous and beautifully staged production. it is difficult to erase the memory of Monty Woolley in the original movie version, repeating his stage role that certainly would have won him the Tony Award had they existed at the time. Nathan Lane, now a recipient of three Tony Awards, is the perfect choice to take on Woolley's iconic role, and is just as bombastic as he would be the following year playing Max Bialystock in the smash-hit production of "The Producers". Every acidic remark out of his mouth is as if he squeezed a lemon with his teeth into a cocktail and then removed it without touching it.

Of course, Sheridan Whiteside is not exactly a lovable character although he does get to show a human side with people that he genuinely likes. Whom he doesn't like are the Stanleys, the small-minded well off Ohio residents who invited him for a Christmas holidayvisit that ends up with a nearly permanent stay when he is injured while entering their house thanks to their icy steps. Whiteside does like their children and precedes to interfere in everything they do, simply to spite their parents. He is also intrigued by Mr. Stanley's sister, a sweet woman of mystery who has a secret that we find out late in the show. Rudy Holbrook is quite delightful in this part.

Then there is doctor William Duell, attending to his medical needs and presenting him with a huge copy of the book that he has written. Duell, a familiar character actor, is absolutely adorable and every moment he is on stage you just can't take your eyes off of him just as you couldn't when he co-starred with Lane in the smash-hit revival of "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum". Among Whiteside's colleagues and staff are Harriet Harris as his devoted assistant who falls in love with a local newspaper man and gives her notice, causing Lane to go into full scheme mode. Harris, who would win the Tony just a few years later for playing Mrs. Meers in "Thoroughly Modern Millie", is a far cry from the delicious eccentrics that she has played over the years but she is very memorable in playing a basically normal person who knows every scheme that Sheridan is capable of and just as capable of redacting them. Jean smart plays the glamorous movie and stage actress utilized in his schemes and is delightfully over-the-top.

Imitators of El Brendel, Jimmy Durante and Noel Coward are present in other roles and there's a huge cast of insomnia walls and servants, as well as Mary Catherine Wright taking on the role of nurse preen, so famously created on Broadway and in the film and TV versions by the beloved Mary Wickes. right does not do a Wickes impression and the character seems closer to Zasu Pitts (who also played that role) then the tougher Wickes. When Lewis J. Staden comes in during the third Act as the Durante character, laying basically steps to the side.

this is the type of play that if you see it in a theater you go in forgetting what year you are in and just take in the nostalgia. The references to people, trends and events of the late 1930's and early 1940's are overwhelming and it would take several viewings and research to get a lot of them. But for people who are culturally aware of these things from that time, it is a delightful trip to a long-gone era. The fantastic set and excellent direction by Jerry Zaks make this a revival that was certainly worthy of a television broadcast that PBS followed up the following year with their revival of "The Women". To quote Banjo, I never got the feeling that I wanted to go. I only wanted to stay and just recapture this over and over.

Lots of fun

[taratula · 9/10 · 10 October 2000]

What a wonderful, witty comedy this is. I was so glad PBS broadcasted this terrific stage production. Beautifully directed by Jerry Zaks. I loved all the performances, but Jean Smart was especially fabulous as the ridiculous Lorraine Sheldon. The dialogue in this play is so good that even if you don't get an opportunity to see it, you'll get a good chuckle out of reading the script.

Scene stealing performance by Byron Jennings

[schwartznatasha · 10/10 · 5 August 2004]

I gave this DVD version of the play a 10 simply for the scene stealing performance by Byron Jennings. He is truly amazing as Beverley Carlton. This is not to be missed by anyone who appreciates uncommonly gifted acting.

Nathan Lane as Sheridan Whiteside is the perfect foil for him. His line about the Lindbergh baby is hilarious, and Byron Jennings' reaction is well in tune with Nathan Lane's humor. It's rare to watch actors who are so much in sync with each other. Too often a film or play will feature great talent playing opposite mediocre talent. Speaking of which, the actress who plays Sheridan Whiteside's secretary is not of their caliber and detracts from their performance.

The play's greatest weakness is that Mr. Jennings appears in just one scene.

Still, it's amazing enough to be worth the cost of purchase.

It's so unfortunate that American film and theater productions place greater value on perfectly photogenic looks, rather than exceptional talent. If only film and theater goers were able to recognize and value substance and depth of character, they would be able to look beyond the shallowness and one dimensional "acting" that is foisted on us.

It's hard to mess up good writing, but...

[schwapj · 3/10 · 1 September 2017]

...sometimes a classic is not worth tinkering with.

Here's the difference between this version and the Monty Woolley version: Monty Woolley was funny; Nathan Lane thinks he's funny. Don't bother, just rent the 1942 film. And see Bette Davis in one of her funniest and most restrained roles ever.

Hilarious Revival of a true Classic

[SmaRtEm12 · 10/10 · 3 December 2000]

'The Man Who Came To Dinner' revival was just absolutely amazing! The cast shined. Mr.Sheridan Whiteside was played by the one and only Nathan Lane, who made the play pleasurable the whole time. Jean Smart was, in my opinion, one of the funniest on stage. In a specific scene, when she finds out her cables have been wrongfully sent, she has the crowds (and folks at home) up in roars. This wonderful cast also includes Lewis Stadlen, Harriet Harris, Byron Jennings, Terry Beaver, and many more. If you are ever faced with the chance to see this play, don't pass on it! It Is A True Masterpiece!!

Great fun and excellent cast

[markbone · 9/10 · 2 February 2006]

What a treat to watch. Having recently portrayed the role of Mr. Whiteside in a local civic theatre production, I was reluctant to view the movie beforehand, so that I might give the pompous "Babys Breath" my own take. I am proud to report that as much as a a non professional can, I approached the character much like Mr. Lane did.(Only with a bit more heavy handed shouting)Jean Smart is always a treat to watch in anything she does, and I agree, that the role of Banjo was handled with the appropriate lunacy. Also excellent was Harriet Harris. She was able to convey the intimacy that comes from years of being someones right hand, and then to lose that when you have been sidelined by that very same person. It is a wonderful movie to watch. And one of my most favorite roles on stage.

Love having Broadway in my living room!

[kantink · 9 October 2000]

We were unable to get tickets for this show while in NYC on vacation this summer, so it was a pure delight to have live Broadway brought into our home! We can only hope for more productions of a similar nature!!