Enter Laughing

The first few minutes of this movie were nearly perfection. And while the level of humor couldn't be sustained all the way through, since there had to be more dramatic and romantic moments in the middle, there is some truly great material here. The play within a play was the funniest I had seen since "Noises Off"--David may have entered, but we were the ones laughing.

All of the leading performers did such a good job it's hard to single anyone out. One exception is the actors in the play, but then they were supposed to be bad, which means they were good. The first actor to speak in in the play, however, did an excellent job.

Because of my familiarity with these people, I felt Don Rickles and Jack Gilford stood out. I actually did not know Jack Gilford for years except as the man in the Cracker Jack commercials, but I think he did a fine job here. Don Rickles only had two scenes, but his performance in one of them was one of the best of the movie. Hilarious. And he and David set up one of the best quotes.

Jose Ferrer also made an impact. Yes, he had good reason to yell half the time.He did it very well. Overall, his may have been the standout performance.

I didn't recognize Rob Reiner, son of director Carl, and forgot to look for him until I saw the closing credits. Fortunately, this was on my TiVo. He was one of those auditioning for the role David got. Only a couple of lines, but he was pretty good. No sign he would become great, but looking at him a second time, he could have done more.

This movie had lots of great music, like so many of the era. People just don't know everything Quincy Jones was capable of.

This was a real winner.

A terrific movie whose human and humorous story is enlivened by an ensemble company of great character actors at the top of their form: Shelley Winters as the archetypal manipulative mom, Jack Gilford as the tough but sympathetic boss, Ferrer and May, Richard Deacon as the long-suffering stage manager, Michael G. Pollard as the best friend, and Don Rickles as the put-upon Harry Hamburger.

But Ferrer gets two of my favorite lines in all of cinema. Walking by as Rickles and Santoni exchange pants -- don't ask -- he says, "We don't GO for that sort of thing." And, forced to complement Santoni after a disastrous performance, he mutters to himself, "Thank God I'm an alcoholic!"

Enter Laughing is based upon a book written by Carl Reiner on his own experiences breaking into show business. You would think that this would be hysterical, a worthy rival to the producers. But, this film declines to go in that direction. Instead, it is an delicately balanced blend of slapstick, satire, and pathos that suffers a bit from being a bit too gentle with its lead character.

A huge problem is the miscasting of Reni Santoni as Carl Reiner. Rob Reiner was in the film in a minor role. It remains a mystery to me why Rob was not given the lead; he is much more suited to it than the gentle Santoni.

Nevertheless, the supporting cast is terrific, most especially Elaine May, Jose Ferrer, Janet Margolin, Jack Gilford, Don Rickles, Nancy Kovack, David Opatoshu, and Shelley Winters. And, it will make you smile and titter, but not guffaw.

I've seen this movie several times over the years. There are a lot of good, dependable familiar-face comic actors in this. I never heard of the lead, Reni Santori, before or after, but he was quite OK. Shelley Winters plays his mother. Mr. Santori wants to become a Great Actor and attends a joke of an acting school headed by Jose Ferrer and his not-quite-young daughter, Elaine May, and they provide the funniest parts. Poor Former Great Actor Jose Ferrer is a cynical, washed up, bitter drunken individual who, faced with his paying client, looks on aghast while he auditions (under the name of 'Don Coleman'). And he sips from a straw from a pocket flask and mutters, 'AND THEY WONDER WHY I DRINK!'. Supposedly set in the 30's (in no way that I can detect) because it is based on Carl Reiner's memoirs from that time. The opening night performance is equally hilarious. Otherwise, the in-between parts, the mundane romance bits, kind of drag on, but when it's funny, it is FUNNY. Well worth a look.

"Hello......you."

If I hadn't taken TV Productions, I never would have heard of this film. My teacher showed me this film near the end of the school year and taking us about 2 classes to watch the whole thing, I was laughing so hard, it makes me wonder why we don't have comedies like this anymore.

The story revolves around a guy who just finished high school and decides to live his dream as an actor. Turns out, while auditioning, he can't act, but the daughter of the guy running the theater chooses him for the role because of his good looks.

The characters are all likable. Reni Santoni, who plays the lead character, David, was perfect for the role. His character is portrayed as a bad liar as well as indecisive, and he managed to pull it off well. The rest of the characters played by other actors like Janet Margolin, Jack Gilford, Don Rickles, etc. were all perfect for their respective roles. I may not be familiar with the actors (minus Don Rickles from the Toy Story trilogy), but they are all great.

The highlight of the movie is the humor. I never laughed so hard while watching a comedy. The humor sounds natural and not so forced. Even my teacher was laughing on some occasions while we were watching it, especially the climax, which I'm not going to spoil. You can't finish the movie without laughing at least once or twice, or even more than that.

It's too bad no one gave a darn about this movie and it has long since forgotten over the years. Heck, it's not even on DVD or Blu-Ray. No one should miss out on such an underrated comedy.

I believe the movie has a message in which you make your own decisions on how to live your life and not let anyone else control them. This movie is a fine example. If you find a copy of it on VHS, don't hesitate. I highly recommend this to anyone who is a dedicated fan of comedies.