Punchline

The late Edmund Gwenn on his deathbed said that dying was easy, comedy was hard. I think most entertainers would agree with that. One thing for sure is that if the laughs don't come and in the right places you are doing something wrong.

Tom Hanks and Sally Field are a couple of hopefuls looking to break and they're regulars at the club where Mark Rydell is the emcee. Field is a wife and mother with two girls and married to John Goodman. She's also been told she's funny and wants to see if she can make a living at it.

Hanks is the son of a top flight doctor who has forced his son into going to medical school where he flunks out. There are some real issues here with Hanks desperate to succeed and get to the top of his own field as his father has done.

Hanks best moment is when he does get to perform before some TV executives he breaks down completely on stage. It was a beautiful piece of acting.

Punchline more than most films I've seen, shows that these funny people go through a lot of heartache to make it in that business. Hanks and Field are really good pair of leads and the rest of the cast, most of them playing the denizens of the comedy world lend wonderful support.

If you think you might want to be a comedian, see this movie.