mikerosslaw That's right - that two actors in pic are both named George Wallace in real life - is the most interesting thing about this noisy, inept attempt at showcasing the fetid,dark world of standup comedy. Sally Fields and Tom Hanks both die as standup comics (despite the coached laughter from the extras in their audiences). A big deal is made about how they spent a few days with real standup comics, ignoring the fact that real "road comedians" spend literally years in the worst bars on Earth, just to get the chance for that one big break. How arrogant for Fileds and Hanks to think they could convey the pathos that every comedian lives with such a perfunctory preparation.No one in pic is sympathetic, likable, or even remotely interesting. John Goodman plays the cookie-cutter bully husband to wannabe Field's whiny, unappealing wife. Hanks is simply as loathsome as a case of the shingles. Playing against type, is so obnoxiously narcissistic, he makes you want to run him over with your car.The two actors actually named George Wallace in pic play Dr. Wishniak and the dude with his arm in a cast. That's right; two. Same name. The very same. The first is a veteran character actor from the '50s and '60s, the second, is actually a very good standup comedian who - you guessed it - doesn't get to do any standup in pic.A very reluctant three stars, mostly for George Wallace's (the good Dr. Wishniak) merciless excoriation of Hanks as a flunking medical student in the opening scenes (you'll cheer for what happens to Hanks).

Sean Lamberger A moderately hard-edged drama about the private and public lives of comedians, with a special emphasis on the desperate lengths they'll go to for a laugh, or to get an edge on the competition. Sally Field is the focal figure, a mousey housewife who feels destined for greatness but can't locate her own voice, while Tom Hanks plays a big supporting role as a natural performer who's an irresponsible, selfish a-hole behind the scenes. It's an uneven picture that doesn't really click for a number of different reasons. Primary among them is this unspoken sense that a movie about comedians should be funny. Though the on-stage segments are indeed quite flat, big punchlines (if you'll forgive the pun) aren't really the point of this story. Less forgivable is the awkward, cloudy relationship between Hanks and Field that dominates the plot, and the constant shifts in tone from one scene to the next. I never got a real handle on where the film was going, what it wanted to be or to say. That writing jokes is hard, I guess? Sometimes the happiest guy in the spotlight is actually a poisonous, miserable bastard? A complicated, tentative take that's puzzling in its lack of a firm identity.

gwc-7 I didn't fully appreciate Tom Hanks' brilliance and power as an actor until seeing him in Punchline. He brings tremendous depth and pathos to the role of a gifted aspiring comic suffering from performance anxiety who is seeking to break in to the national limelight.Sally Fields' character as a cohort comedian plays off Hanks beautifully, as she competes for the spotlight while desperately trying to balance her passion for comedy and the irresistible pull of the stage with the demands of homemaking, children, and a less than sympathetic partner.The "punchline" in this movie has nothing to do with the jokes--be they good or bad.

Dennis Littrell 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 discernible.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.(Note: Over 500 of my movie reviews are now available in my book "Cut to the Chaise Lounge or I Can't Believe I Swallowed the Remote!" Get it at Amazon!)