Deceptively-packaged as a documentary on the life and film career of director and sometime-actor/author/songwriter/movie historian Peter Bogdanovich, this lovely little valentine instead becomes a case for reevaluating a past, neglected work, Bogdanovich's 1981 comedy-romance "They All Laughed". The picture united Bogdanovich with a great team of colorful, eccentric players and terrific ladies, most particularly Dorothy Stratten, who would go on to be the great love of Bogdanovich's life before she was killed by her estranged husband. Apparently receiving no support from the film company upon its completion (though we do see a vintage newspaper ad for the picture surrounded by glowing reviews from the critics), Bogdanovich bought back the rights to "They All Laughed" and attempted to distribute it himself, from theatre to theatre, city by city (something unusual at the time). It nearly cost him everything, but for the sake of art--and his love for the friends who worked on the movie (many of whom are here in present-day interviews)--Bogdanovich kept his work alive, eventually reaching and inspiring film scholars such as a rapturous Quentin Tarantino. Playboy Playmate Stratten's murder and its after-effects are not ignored, though Peter's volatile interactions with Playboy publisher Hugh Hefner are. We also don't get much of Bogdanovich's early days before success, except to say he was second assistant director to Roger Corman on "The Wild Angels" (no mention of "Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women"), so this isn't an in-depth biography. However, what we are privy to is the pure emotion of creating magic on celluloid, along with the intertwined highs and lows of making a film and the proverbial infighting over the creative issues with the powers-that-be. It's also a moving testament to friendship and to loyalty, rare commodities in show business. *** from ****
