SummaryA medical school dropout and a housewife/mom try to make it as stand-up comedians. They become friends and help each other out at an NYC comedy club.
Directed By:David Seltzer
Written By:David Seltzer
Punchline
Metascore
Mixed or Average
52
User score
Generally Favorable
6.4
My Score
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Top Cast
Metascore
Mixed or Average
52
24% Positive
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
71% Mixed
12 Reviews
12 Reviews
6% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
90
Bold, sneaky, brilliant Punchline works its change-ups unmercifully. I can't remember laughing this much with tears still streaming down my face, or beginning to weep while my sides still ached from laughing. The closest to it was "Terms of Endearment." [30 Sept 1988, p.C1]
63
It's a character study and a stunted romance involving characters played by Tom Hanks and Sally Field, and in that strange couple's brackish chemistry the film founders and sinks. [7 Oct 1988, p.E1]
60
Although PUNCHLINE occasionally falters--in its contrived contest ending and saccharine tendencies--it is still an engaging and honest achievement.
50
Punchline, a movie about the pain and sacrifices of being a comic, is a lot less pretty and less believeable than it should be. It's also a lot more manipulative.[7 Oct 1988, p.8]
50
Despite a strong cast, an exceptional performance by Tom Hanks and several strong moments, Punchline never makes the transition from concept to movie. Directed and written by David Seltzer ("Lucas"), it's a film that must strain mightily to cast its promising but vague subject-stand-up comedy- into dramatic terms, and it dips more than once into soapy contrivance. [30 Sept 1988, p.A]
50
The problem may be that the movie isn’t nearly tough enough. It needs to be more hard-boiled, more merciless in its dissection of egos, more perceptive about the cutthroat nature of show business.
30
One problem here is that the jokes aren't funny; another is that Sally Field is funny by mistake.
User score
Generally Favorable
6.4
40% Positive
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
60% Mixed
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
0% Negative
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
Sep 13, 2024
5
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 find 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. Punchline Is an uneven picture that doesn't really click for a number of 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, and the constant tonal shifts 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.
Production Company:
- Columbia Pictures
- Fogwood
- IndieProd Company Productions
Release Date:Oct 7, 1988
Duration:2 h 8 m
Rating:R
Tagline:It only hurts when you LAUGH!
Awards
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
