Click here to copy URL

Punchline

1988

David Seltzer

Tom Hanks, Sally Field, John Goodman, Mark Rydell ...

5.3

659

Comedy Steven Gold is a stand-up comedian who is flat broke and has recently dropped out of medical school. He and several others work regularly at the Gas Station, a New York comedy club. The wages are lousy and everybody hopes for the big break. Lilah Krytsick is housewife with an ambition to be a stand-up comedian, however she doesnt seem to have the talent. Steven takes her under his wings and teaches her the art of comedy and humour. But ... [+]

	Author	Review
United States	Vincent Canby The New York Times	"When Mr. Seltzer gives [Hanks] good material, he's very funny and affecting here (...) At no point in 'Punchline' do Lilah and Steven seem to be made for each other."	NEU
United States	Roger Ebert rogerebert.com	"A pathetic movie into which a great deal of energy and talent has disappeared (…) Rating: ★★ (out of 4)"	NEG
United States	Sheila Benson Los Angeles Times	"Bold, sneaky, brilliant (...) I can’t remember laughing this much with tears still streaming down my face"	POS
United States	Variety	"It's an uneven melodrama where Tom Hanks exhibits flashes of brilliance (...) Hanks is the real reason to see the film"	NEU
United Kingdom	Stephen Garrett Time Out	"One problem here is that the jokes aren't funny; another is that Sally Field is funny by mistake. It's saved by Tom Hanks' portrayal of Steven Gold"	NEU

Return to movie

We encourage you to check the reviews' original sources. Intellectual property rights of these reviews belong to their authors and/or the correspondent media from which they have been extracted. If you'd like to help us to add more reviews to your favorite movies, just send us a message.