This article needs additional citations for verification .(June 2021) |
The Impostors | |
---|---|
![]() DVD cover | |
Directed by | Stanley Tucci |
Written by | Stanley Tucci |
Produced by | Elizabeth W. Alexander Stanley Tucci |
Starring |
|
Cinematography | Ken Kelsch |
Edited by | Suzy Elmiger |
Music by | William Cook Gary DeMichele |
Distributed by | Fox Searchlight Pictures 20th Century Fox |
Release date |
|
Running time | 101 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Box office | $2,198,044 [1] |
The Impostors is a 1998 American farce motion picture directed, written and produced by Stanley Tucci, starring Oliver Platt, Tucci, Alfred Molina, Tony Shalhoub, Steve Buscemi, and Billy Connolly.
The film, in which Oliver Platt and Stanley Tucci play a Laurel and Hardy-like odd couple of out-of work actors, is set in the depression-era 1930s; indeed, the retro style of the film is a re-creation of 1930s screwball comedy. [2] The opening silent sequence harks back to the golden days of silent film. [3]
The film was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival. [4]
In New York City in 1938 Arthur and Maurice scrape together a living on petty swindles, practicing their acting technique whenever they can. Following a drunken confrontation with pretentious and dreadful Shakespearean actor Sir Jeremy Burtom, they are forced to hide as stowaways on an ocean liner.
Unfortunately for the duo, Burtom himself turns out to be a passenger on the ship, along with a vividly diverse ensemble of larger-than-life characters: a suicidal crooner named Happy Franks sobs through a song; Mr. Sparks, an aging gay professional tennis player; the first mate Voltri, who is also a mad bomber with his own language; and many more.
Mistaken identities, pratfalls, slapstick, outrageous dialogue, and general mayhem ensue.
Stanley Tucci and producer Elizabeth W. Alexander pitched the film to studios but were initially unable to persuade one to support the initial budget of $12 million. Eventually, Fox Searchlight was able to finance the film at $8 million. [5]
The genesis of the principal characters in "The Impostors" began earlier, when Tucci and Oliver Platt were acting at Yale along with Tony Shalhoub. [6] Subsequently, Tucci and Platt teamed up as a pair of dognappers in the 1992 movie Beethoven . [7] Based on their experiences acting together, Tucci developed "The Impostors" for himself and Platt to capitalize on their physical appearance, although Tucci did not "think of us as the next Laurel and Hardy, even though we are shaped and named just like Stan and Ollie." [8] The script for "The Impostors" was completed in late 1996, and the movie went into production by the middle of 1997. [5]
On-location filming took place in New York and New Jersey, with other filming taking place at an ocean liner set built for the movie at Silvercup Studios in Queens. Filming was completed late in 1997. [5]
The Impostors holds a 63% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 38 reviews, with an average rating of 6.4/10. The consensus states: "The Impostors might have benefited from a more consistently witty script, but writer-director Stanley Tucci acquits himself nicely as an orchestrator of screwball comedy in this uneven debut." [9]
In 2021, Tucci said that when anyone tells him that The Impostors is their favorite movie, he "accuse[s] them of having escaped from an asylum," and that if someone else had directed it, "then I think it would have been a really good movie." [10]
Laurel and Hardy were a British-American comedy duo act during the early Classical Hollywood era of American cinema, consisting of Englishman Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and American Oliver Hardy (1892–1957). Starting their career as a duo in the silent film era, they later successfully transitioned to "talkies". From the late 1920s to the mid-1950s, they were internationally famous for their slapstick comedy, with Laurel playing the clumsy, childlike friend to Hardy's pompous bully. Their signature theme song, known as "The Cuckoo Song", "Ku-Ku", or "The Dance of the Cuckoos" was heard over their films' opening credits, and became as emblematic of them as their bowler hats.
The year 1998 in film involved many significant films, including Shakespeare in Love, Saving Private Ryan, Armageddon, American History X, The Truman Show, Primary Colors, Rushmore, Rush Hour, There's Something About Mary, The Big Lebowski, and Terrence Malick's directorial return in The Thin Red Line. DreamWorks SKG released its first two animated films: Antz and The Prince of Egypt, the latter becoming the inaugural winner of the Critics' Choice Award for Best Animated Feature. The Pokémon theatrical film series started with Pokémon: The First Movie. Warner Bros. Pictures celebrated its 75th anniversary.
Steven Vincent Buscemi is an American actor. He is known for his roles in Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs (1992), Robert Rodriguez's Desperado (1995), Simon West's Con Air (1997), Michael Bay's Armageddon (1998), the dark comedy Ghost World (2001), Tim Burton's drama Big Fish (2003), and Armando Iannucci's political satire The Death of Stalin (2017). Buscemi is also known for his many collaborations with the Coen brothers, having appeared in six of their films: Miller's Crossing (1990), Barton Fink (1991), The Hudsucker Proxy (1994), Fargo (1996), The Big Lebowski (1998), and Paris, je t'aime (2006).
Frances Louise McDormand is an American actress and producer. Throughout her career spanning over four decades she has gained acclaim for her roles in small-budget independent films. McDormand has received numerous accolades, including four Academy Awards, two Emmy Awards, and one Tony Award, making her one of the few performers to achieve the "Triple Crown of Acting". Additionally, she has received three BAFTA Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, and four Screen Actors Guild Awards.
Beethoven is a 1992 American family comedy film, directed by Brian Levant and starring Charles Grodin and Bonnie Hunt as George and Alice Newton, respectively. It is the first installment of the Beethoven film series.
Anthony Marc Shalhoub, is an American actor. Known for his performances on stage and screen, he has received various accolades including five Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, six Screen Actors Guild Awards, and a Tony Award.
Big Night is a 1996 American comedy-drama film co-directed by Campbell Scott and Stanley Tucci. The film stars Tucci, alongside Minnie Driver, Ian Holm, Isabella Rossellini, Allison Janney and Tony Shalhoub.
Stanley Tucci Jr. is an American actor and filmmaker. Known as a character actor, he has played a wide variety of characters ranging from menacing to sophisticated. Tucci has earned numerous accolades over his career including five Emmy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Screen Actors Guild Award as well as a nomination for an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and a Tony Award.
Oliver Platt is a Canadian-born American actor known for his extensive character actor roles on stage and screen. He has been nominated for four Primetime Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and a Tony Award,
Christine Tucci is an American actress.
Married to the Mob is a 1988 American crime comedy film directed by Jonathan Demme, and starring Michelle Pfeiffer, Matthew Modine, Dean Stockwell, Mercedes Ruehl, and Alec Baldwin. Pfeiffer plays Angela de Marco, a gangster's widow from Brooklyn, opposite Modine as the undercover FBI agent assigned the task of investigating her mafia connections.
Trees Lounge is a 1996 American comedy-drama film and the debut of Steve Buscemi as writer and director. It was produced by Brad Wyman and Chris Hanley and features a large ensemble cast of actors, including Buscemi, Anthony LaPaglia, Chloë Sevigny, and Samuel L. Jackson. The film's black humor is based on examination of characters' self-destructive behavior, revolving around their shared hangout of the titular bar and lounge.
"Mr. Monk and the Actor" is the first episode of the fifth season of the American comedy-drama detective television series Monk, and the show's 62nd episode overall. The series follows Adrian Monk, a private detective with obsessive–compulsive disorder and multiple phobias, and his assistant Natalie Teeger. In this episode, Monk has to link two different cases while an actor hired to play him in a film emotionally disturbs him.
A Midsummer Night's Dream is a 1999 romantic comedy fantasy film based on the play of the same name by William Shakespeare. It was written, directed and co-produced by Michael Hoffman. The ensemble cast features Kevin Kline as Bottom, Michelle Pfeiffer and Rupert Everett as Titania and Oberon, Stanley Tucci as Puck, and Calista Flockhart, Anna Friel, Christian Bale, and Dominic West as the four lovers.
The Chimp is a Laurel and Hardy short film made in 1932. It was directed by James Parrott, produced by Hal Roach, and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The second half of the film is a reworking from their last silent film Angora Love (1929), itself reworked into a short film the previous year, Laughing Gravy (1931).
An impostor or imposter is a person who pretends to be somebody else.
Peter Chelsom is a British film director, writer, and actor. He has directed such films as Hector and the Search for Happiness, Serendipity, and Shall We Dance? Peter Chelsom is a member of the British Academy, the American Academy, The Directors Guild of America, and The Writers Guild of America.
The first season of Monk originally aired in the United States on USA Network from July 12 to October 18, 2002, which consisted of 13 episodes. Tony Shalhoub, Bitty Schram, Ted Levine, and Jason Gray-Stanford were introduced as portraying the main characters. Tony Shalhoub portrayed Adrian Monk, the title character, an OCD homicide detective from San Francisco, who was removed from the force after the murder of his wife. A DVD of the season was released on June 15, 2003.
Saint John of Las Vegas is a 2009 American comedy-drama film starring Steve Buscemi, Romany Malco, and Sarah Silverman.
Final Portrait is a 2017 drama film written and directed by Stanley Tucci. The film stars Geoffrey Rush, Armie Hammer, Clémence Poésy, Tony Shalhoub, James Faulkner, and Sylvie Testud. The film had its world premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival on February 11, 2017. It was released in the United Kingdom on August 18, 2017, by Vertigo Releasing. On March 23, 2018, Sony Pictures Classics released the film in the United States.
The opening sequence, which is the movie's best, is played like a silent film...