Forgotten Gems: Noises Off!

Thanks for checking out my review in a new feature I like to call Forgotten Gems.

Last night while participating in the 300th Episode of the live The Movie Blog: Uncut, John was asked what his “most underrated” movie was. When he instantly said Noises Off! this sent a wave of memories in and a deep appreciation for this movie.

See, the International Friends might not know this, but John was actually a roommate of mine for a little over a Year. Doug was an unofficial roommate often just spending the majority of the summer at our place as did Wormwood, another TMB Alum. The house I owned at the time was the central hub of our group of friends and that 4 bedroom four level back-split went down in history. At one point I had 3 official roommates and about 3-4 more who just lived there. We also had a total of nine couches.

I didn’t want to spend any of my money on something as silly as cable so the movie rental place up the street which offered 7movies for 7 days for 7bucks got a lot of our business. There was always a stack of generic white plastic movie shells on the entertainment unit.

One of those movies, which quickly became a purchase was Noises Off! We wore out that movie.

THE GENERAL IDEA

From IMDB: Lloyd Fellowes (Michael Caine) is the director of a theater company. He’s desperately trying to get his production together, despite the best efforts of the cast, the crew, and Lady Luck. We follow the production from final rehearsals, through opening night, and onto the tour: as with any group of actors forced to work closely together for any great length of time, romances and arguments are bound to break out. Quite often, what’s happening on stage is nothing compared to what’s happening backstage.

THE GOOD STUFF

The Play within the Movie is called “Nothing On”, and you only get to see the first part introducing the characters and some of the hijinks, and then skips ahead to the end with a line involving Sardines and some struck poses that make you wonder how the play came to this conclusion. But you don’t need to know. This story is about the actors putting on the show and this is where the genius lies. You are exposed to as much of the play as you need to just to get to the real story.

The Cast. When you hear the term “ensemble cast” it refers to a group where no one is the clear star, but the group itself is the star. I think this movie defines that term better than any other film. Just check out this lineup:

Carol Burnett, Michael Caine, Denholm Elliott, Julie Hagerty, Marilu Henner, Mark Linn-Baker, Christopher Reeve, John Ritter and Nicollette Sheridan.

Each of these actors are just brilliant in this movie. They all have strong personalities which all play a critical part and of course clash throughout the production. And each one of them plays an actor who is playing an actor in a play. It’s always clear when they are being “themselves” or when the actor is acting. Within this stage production we see what happens backstage and get a look at how a show gets put on. They all have their character quirks and they all shine in them.

The late John Ritter putts his pratfalls and physical comedy to the limit in this movie and not always “in the play”. Also no longer with us Christopher Reeve plays a soft spoken pacifist who gets a nosebleed if he witnesses violence. Which just punctuates the comedy of the falls, kicks, punches and other tomfoolery “on set”.

The comedic timing of each of these players is spot on. A line doesn’t drop without the rim shot to follow. The running gags never get tired.

I was in stitches for probably half of this movie and smiling during the rest of it.

THE BAD STUFF

Nicollette Sheridan spends the majority of this movie in lingerie. You hope to see more, but you don’t.

Aside from that, I’ve got nothing. Seriously.

OVERALL

This movie has repeat watching value that wont tire you or bore you. A rare quality. Dare I say that you will NOT find another ensemble as brilliantly mixed as this bunch. They may not have been superstars in their individual right, but together they combine to make the most amazing production which guarantees laughs and memorable lines.

The line by Carol Burnett that always gets me is “I’m sorry, I can’t see that far with this leg” - Sounds silly, but in the context of this complex scene there is nothing more perfect for her to say. You will just have to watch it.

Typically this is where John or Doug would write a “Out of 10″ rating, but since all of these Forgotten Gems are going to be what I would rate a 8, 9 or 10, I have made my own rating system.

TV - Make a point of watching it if you see it listed on TV.
Rent - Good enough to go out of your way to see it, but not enough to buy it.
Buy - So good. You will watch it again and again. Buy it!

So on a scale of TV, Rent or Buy I suggest BUY!

If you are lucky enough to find it in the bargain bin at WalMart, great. If you have to pay full pop to get it ordered in, you won’t regret it.