Customer Reviews

Punchline [VHS]

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Punchline begins with an engaging premise. Steven Gold (Tom Hanks at age 31) is a med student driven by his physician father to become a doctor. But Steven hates medical school, can't stand the sight of blood, etc. Instead of going to class, he goes to the local comedy club (The Gas Station). Instead of doing his homework, he does standup. He's very good. Lilah Krytsick (Sally Field at 42) is a frumpy Jersey housewife with three kids and a husband (John Goodman) who sells insurance. He wants her to stay home nights, but she has a passion for wanting to make people laugh. So she too moonlights at The Gas Station. She is not funny. In desperation she spends five hundred dollars of household funds to buy jokes to use on the audience. Everything bombs.

Meanwhile, Steven is a little behind in his rent and thinks that, what the hey, he can sell Lilah some jokes. But it never comes to that. Instead he becomes enchanted with her and helps her break free of her inhibitions and perform naturally and effectively on stage. Can true love be far behind? (Rhetorical question, but the answer is not pat.)

If you are a Tom Hanks fan, see this movie. You will be delighted. He puts on a versatile performance depicting a guy who needed to be, in the very fiber of his being, a comedian. The role shows off his talent, and makes us understand why he is now, at the relatively young age of 45, one of America's premiere screen idols.

The rest of the movie, however, is a mix of strengths and weaknesses. Sally Field, in a difficult role, gives an uneven performance which I think is partly the fault of director David Seltzer, who also wrote the script. His direction is brilliant and awful by turns. In particular the schmaltzy, unnecessarily unrealistic ending is very disappointing. He also dug himself a hole because the top comedic performance had to be the last, yet it wasn't. All the expectations of the audience fell, and perhaps that is why Seltzer stuck himself with an ending that played like something devised by a committee of filmland execs intent on political correctness above all else. Also, any difference between the John Goodman who played Rosanne Arnold's husband on TV and the John Goodman here was not immediately discernable.

However some of the scenes were just perfect I especially liked it when Steven's overbearing father (instead of a network producer) shows up at the club. Steven Gold's anguished, self-revelatory on stage reaction is excellent. --Or when Lilah rushes to prepare dinner slapstick style for company; or when night is done and it's four or five am and Steven has helped her discover herself and he asks how she will explain being out all night to her husband and she says she will crawl into bed with one of the kids and he will think she slept there all night. Also good was the singing in the rain scene and the scene in which the daughter, showing the wisdom of children, says to Lilah, after her husband asks to see her perform, "Say yes, mom." Also good were the motley troupe of semi-pro comedians, including a fine performance by Mark Rydell as Romeo, the manager of the club.

This rates a five point something at IMDb, but that's a little unfair. It's a better movie than that. See it for Tom Hanks, and for David Seltzer, who just missed making a great movie.

I caught this film on HBO or Showtime the other night, after not having seen it in years and I have to say that it's better than I remembered it. I totally loved the non-standup comedy details of the film- Hanks making comments about "going under" as he tries in vein to clean himself up before going onstage after not having taken a shower in awhile due to the fact that he's been kicked out of his apartment, Sally Field's portrayol of a woman wanting more in her life than just motherhood, etc. You really get the feeling that these are real people with dreams and you want to root for them, hoping that they'll "make it". I found myself getting nervous before each of their stand up performances. Anyway, great film, highly recommended.

Chaplin said comedy is tragedy plus time. I love the character Tom Hanks plays, a medical student who fears blood and would not have opted for learning in surgery but for his parental instructions. What really moves me is not the lines (they are funny) but the philiosophy the whole film brings out - be yourself, always.

This is such a good movie! Tom Hanks plays a promising, self - destructive comic with emotional problems, and gives an OSCAR-CALIBUR PERFORMANCE! I have been a huge fan of Hanks since Bosom Buddies, but this was the film which made me realize just how great he is! It actually came out about the same time as "Big", which Hanks was nominated for, and I never understood why this film got slighted. Check it out, and see the first sign of the greatness to come in "Philledelphia" and Forest Gump"!

Ordered and received my movie without any problems or delays. Would not hesitate to use them again in the future.

Great movie. Never got recognition. Tom Hanks should have been nominated for an Academy Award. Sally Fields should have also.

This was a memorable film for me, both good and bad. Almost 20 years later, some of the scenes in here bring either a smile or a frown to my face. I guess that means this is a powerful story. It left some indelible impressions, at least in my sensitive memory.

Tom Hanks was mesmerizing as the haunted comedian, a man with a lot of talent to make people laugh but a guy tormented by the lack of support from his father. There is a scene or two in here with this dad that is so uncomfortable to watch that it has prevented me from seeing this multiple times.

Too bad, because I do remember some wonderful, funny scenes such as Hanks in the hospital entertaining the patients. Sally Field also gives a touching performance as a housewife trying to break into the stand-up comedy business, and John Goodman is likable as her husband.

Overall, this is an interesting film with very emotional scenes you won't soon forget.

don't let the box and subject matter fool you in believing that this is your typical 80's comedy.it's not.it's more of a drama and shows the lives of stand-up comedians,hopeful for that big break.i'm guessing that this film isn't more well known because people were disappointed that this wasn't another Tom Hanks '80's comedy.it's a shame because this is a very good film.it's not perfect but still worth the price.i first saw this on late night cable(HBO) when it first came out and fell in love with it immediately and have watched it a dozen or so times since.the cast is great,very well acted,and i think that Hanks and Field should have gotten the recognition that they so very well deserved.John Goodman also stars,playing Fields husband,and as always is great as well.eventhough i stated this is more of a drama,there are some very funny parts as well.other reviewers stated when field is running late to make dinner, but my favorite is either when their daughter tells a joke at the dinner table with priests as guests or when fields gets her hair done and hanks responds,"did they drill your head for bowling?" if you like the cast and are also a fan of stand-up comedy you shouldn't be disappointed.

Not many people even know about this film.
Tom Hanks is great in this. Sally Fields does a great job in this also. Also watch for John Goodman who does his usual fantastic supporting role in this. Plus a young Damon Wayons in
this!!! You can't go wrong with this one.

Long before "Forrest Gump," and soon after "Big," Tom Hanks gave his best and most fierce performance ever. It was emotional and very, very dark. It was as a struggling stand up comic trying to help Sally Field through the rigors and disappointments of a comics life. He was very moody and effective in this role. It showed a different side of his talents. It's time to dust off this movie and let people appriciate this very underrated performance. The movie itself it good, and well worth watching. John Goodman is great as Field's husband, who struggles with being supportive with his own ideas of who his wife is. It is a great piece of character study, and a warm introduction to the talent that is Tom Hanks. Great movie, great performances, sharp direction, and a very witty and sometimes biting screenplay.