The Impostors (1998)

the audience applauded

Highly Overrated But Still Good

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

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

As others have pointed out, The Imposters is a comedy, but it's not a comedy in the "A Fish Called Wanda" or "Dumb and Dumber" vein. It's a sophisticated, frothy comedy that hearkens back to the days of "Bringing Up Baby" or "Merrily We Live." So if you enjoyed that type of comedy, this is for you.Oliver Platt and Stanley Tucci (who wrote, directed, and produced) play two out of work actors in the 1930s. When they try to make a bakery owner angry enough to throw pastries at them, they fail, and instead are given two tickets to a bad actor's (Alfred Molina) Hamlet. Their insults of him in a bar are enough to send them hiding in a boarding box. They fall asleep and when they open the box, they find they're on a steamship headed for Paris.As stowaways, the enlist the help of one of the workers (Lily Taylor) who has a pseudo-Nazi (Campbell Scott) chasing her around, so they have to be careful. Hiding in different rooms, they encounter two murderers (Allison Janey and Richard Jenkins), who plan on killing an old woman for her money. She is on the ship hoping her miserable daughter can find a man. Her daughter does - a suicidal singer named Happy Franks (Steve Buscemi). There is also a Russian bomber (Tony Shalhoub) disguised as a first mate, a princess (Isabella Rosselini) who has been dethroned, a sheik, and a Greco- Roman wrestler. And let's not forget that Hamlet himself is in need of a sea voyage to recover from his bad performances.Some real laugh-out-loud moments in this film, with delightful performances from Tucci, Platt, Shalhoub, and Buscemi especially.If you like the old comedies, check this one out.

This movie features Arthur, played by Stanley Tucci, and Maurice, played by Oliver Platt, as starving and out of work stage actors who have been involved in a minor altercation in a bar with famed and besotted Shakespearean actor Sir Jeremy Bertrom (a thinly veiled reference to Richard Burton), played by Alfred Molina. Bertrom immediately inflates the episode as an attempt on his life, initiating a chase by the authorities, the unfortunate pair ultimately hiding in a crate on a dock. They fall asleep, finding the next morning that they have been loaded aboard a luxury liner, making them inadvertent stowaways. As luck, and admittedly ham-handed writing would have it, Bertrom has booked passage on the same ship, where he hopes that "The salt air will heal my wounds, and the motion of the cool, green sea will soothe my tortured soul."Arthur and Maurice's presence on the ship is soon found out, and with the help of sympathetic cruise director Lily, played by Lili Taylor, disguise themselves as stewards and manage through luck and mayhem to stay just ahead of Bertrom, Meistrich, the severely Prussian head steward, hysterically played by Campbell Scott, and the gentle, mild mannered Marco who is charged by Meistrich to apprehend the stowaways. In the process, the duo learn that the first mate, played by Tony Shalhoub, is in fact a terrorist cum freedom fighter of an obscure and unnamed country who plans to blow up the ship, and that an American couple, Johnny and Maxine, thieves masquerading as Parisians, are planning to seduce and murder a wealthy widow and an Arab Sheik, respectively.Set sometime in the 1930's, the tone feels decidedly European, with European sensibilities. There is elegance here, within the confines of a limited budget. There are tuxes and flower arrangements galore, but this ain't Titanic. That said, the production design pokes fun at itself in that the bulk of the movie is shot on a static ship-board set that does not resort to the use of fancy lighting, gimbals, or even water, and in place of a green screen uses a cheap, "to hell with 'em if they can't take a joke" painted backdrop. The pace is quick and frenetic, energized by the extensive use of hand-held camera work. The acting, for its part, is poured not into characters per se but joyfully and unabashedly into cartoon-like characterizations. And this is not the hallmark of bad acting as some would suggest, for the writing allows the actors free rein to deliver in places great monologues, in the way jazz artists are given, each in turn, an opportunity to display their virtuosity in their solo performances. I would suggest that it takes great skill to flesh out such vivid and flamboyant personages.This movie would best be described as a gag movie, in that it has the appearance of a string of set-piece gags that are carefully set up and sprung on the viewer. And, if the art of humor lies with the delivery, than the delivery here is top-notch, with great lines joyfully delivered by over-the-top characters. It should be noted that in the hands of lesser talent, lines such as: Meistrich: "The danger of the chase has made you perspire. It has made me also…moist." Maxine: "What are we gonna do with all that cash, Johnny?" Johnny: "What do you think, baby?" Maxine: "Take it on the lam and scram to some far-off land and lead a life of bliss, Johnny?" Would fall flat and strike the ear as crushingly hokey. It takes real chops to make material like this work.And the delivery isn't made up just in the acting. The camera has an active part in selling the lines, also. To illustrate, Marco and Lili are romantically involved, but Meistrich, who is infatuated with Lili, repeatedly tries to insinuate himself in every private moment the couple manages together, the camera drawing away abruptly and without warning at such times from an intimate two shot to a three shot, revealing the intruder Meistrich. The music helps establish the mindset in the viewer also, alternating between delightfully continental Tango music to breezy and raucous Dixieland.And though this is most assuredly a gag movie, the bits are not just strewn helter-skelter against a vapid storyline. All the jokes become glittering sequins on a lovingly woven and coherent fabric of plot. It hangs together very nicely, thank you. However, it should be noted that not all the gags work, however. The sheer volume of them and the variability of taste in movie-goers would decree that at least some fall flat, and for this reviewer that is the case, but many more are delightful, and more than make up for the klunkers. So why didn't this do better at the box office? And why does it have a ranking of 6.0 on IMDb? It isn't for the craftsmanship; technically, the directing is first-rate, the writing also, the acting top-notch, and the soundtrack is superb. So the problem is that of taste. For any one individual, that person's taste will decree that they are either going to like this movie or they won't. I know folks who, to their credit, have tried to watch Monty Python and the Holy Grail several times and still can't see the funny in it that tickles others. For myself, this one is a gentle, joyful froth that does not concern itself with heady examinations of the human condition or the subconscious. Rather, it is cinematic playfulness, perfect for distracting me at least temporarily from the burden of seriousness that life imposes.

File under general silliness. I laughed at this the way my spouse did with Jim Carey's Liar Liar. This is a risqué update of Laurel and Hardy or Abbot and Costello movies with a heaping helping of Film Noir. It is complete with Pink Panther-like pratfalling and Monty Python farce. Definitely for an adult audience, not a kiddie movie. Dissing this movie is like complaining that Rocky Horror Picture show lacked plot development. If you get this film genre, if you really get it… you're going to wet your pants laughing. Look for Campbell Scott's portrayal of the Nazi ship's steward Meistrich and a wonderful stretch with Oliver Platt in drag. Stanley Tucci and Tony Shaloub are a riot. Scenes with Scotsman Billy Connolly as the physically fit tennis pro are not to miss. He's way funnier than Fat Bastard and easier on the eyes. So settle in quietly with a glass of wine or a bottle of Guiness and let this delightful 1930's farce treat you an old fashioned belly laugh.

I don't know what I would have done if I'd never stumbled across this film. I must have been in the sixth grade when I was appearing in funny play. On the morning of the opening performance, I'd come down with a case of laryngitisso I stayed home that day hoping to recover some of my voice. Having a two minute walk between me and the local video store encouraged me to rent some great comedies for inspiration for that night's performance. The spine of the The Impostors VHS case jumped out at me (it must have been it's funny lettering) and I read the back. Interesting I thought and rented it. I was thoroughly entertained throughout the whole film and it became an instant favorite. However, this comment is not about the story of my life and passion, it's about this fantabulous film, so I'll shut up and discuss how great this movie is.I'd like to state that this is the definition of slapstick comedy. Stanley Tucci and Oliver Platt team up in this brilliantly funny film. They have so much chemistry on screen together. They need to collaborate more!First off, Stanley Tucci's writing and direction are genius. What a comedian in front of the camera, behind the camera, and in front of a computer writing a script like this one. Each character you start to love no matter who they are. The character development is also superb. After watching this incredibly intelligent and comic film, I now have a new respect for Tucci. I loved him in Big Trouble, but The Impostors is simply his best ever.Oliver Platt and Lili Taylor are also the shining jewels of this film. For the past couple of years it seems as if Oliver Platt has sort of disappeared from the silver screen and as much as I hate to admit this, I sort of forgot above my fondness of him. When I decided to take a trip down memory lane and rent Impostors my love for this talented comedian resurfaced. He's an amazing man. Such a clown. Such a hilarious cuddly bear. I've never been too familiar with Lili Taylor. I'd always find myself mixing her name up with another one of my favorite actors, Jennifer Tily. Now I feel that I can tell the difference. I've found a new respect for her. She's the cute, normal, down to earth girl who may not win the heart of the popular sex good, but the heart of an intellectual guy who cares about her and also will save the day. She's so amazing and clever, and I seem to be unable to articulate my new love. Ahh..the power of love.This comment could go on forever. I'd love to explain each character and why I've become to attached and fond of them. Not only are the characters brilliant but the actors who play them are more so. The Oscars should invent a nomination for the Casting Director because this films casting director (sorry I can't remember their name) cast every role correctly. In conclusion, I feel that this film will always remain an unearthed gem. It's so clever, comic, quircky, and entertaining. It is the king of slapstick comedy. Each time I watch this film (I now own the VHS and DVD) and I watch it twice. It will never get old for me. It's become a classic in my life and has a special place on my DVD/VHS shelf. I swear to everyone reading this comment that when I become a famous director, I'll remake this. Unfortunately, I'm afraid I'll never be able to top Tucci and everyone who worked on this project's genius.