In 1981, I took a trip to my local theater when seeing the trailer for this on TV, it was the very same day, only just over an hour later. Being 13, it of course was for the very reason John Ritter (then of "Three's Company") was going to be in it.
Goes without saying, I expected 2 hours of high comedy from him and the cast. I may have also taken the title literally then. It's safe to say, many young people can take things like a movie trailer at face value.
Nothing of an "overwhelming" nature happens throughout the film but the main point is, the men in the movie are detectives hired to follow these women , to see if they are engaging in marital infidelity aka cheating on their husbands.
It takes a little while to figure out just where the story is headed but what's clear is Ben Gazzara, John Ritter and Blaine Novak work for the Odyssey Detective Agency, which is truthfully advertised by the line 'We never sleep'.
Gazzara's been assigned to track Audrey Hepburn's character by her husband, while Ritter & Novak trail Dorothy Stratten as she slips away from her husband, to rendezvous with young Sean Ferrer's character.
Oddly, Audrey didn't speak for the entire first hour (much of the film is devoted to the vague observation on the part of the detectives), but ultimately she emerges as the most mature and discreet character in the group, in terms of how she carries herself and her affairs.
Certain plot points have an eerie resemblances to the cirumstances leading up to Stratten's real life 1980 murder, as she too, had been followed by a detective hired by her husband. (See the movie "Star 80", for better detail on her life events.)
A palm reading scene in where Ritter predicts that her marriage will come to a swift end ( and she wonders if she has much time left ) is chilling for those familiar with the Stratten case.
To the 13 year old me, this was a bit confusing as I really did have very little idea why all this running around New York was going on.
I remember only laughing at 2 things then. Ritter is in Stratten's apartment, her dog doesn;t like him. There's this little window, with a tiny stone ledge for placing a plant. He looks at that, then the dog, "You wanna go play on the balcony?"
What's amazing is that Ritter had worked with Peter Bogdonovich before and with great results. The results here are merely, adequete.
The other one , is the detective with long hair, has it all tucked underhis hat at first, then in some store, removes the hat to reveal its length. I wasn't expecting that.
Otherwise, I found it dull and confusing. Anyhow, long after that time, I found the movie on video and rewatched it. It made more sense and I understood it all and it's point...but for me, it wasn't any the less dull.
I'm not for marital infidelity but I found it hard to find the urgency in the situation.
I can only say the actors did a 'good' job but it honestly could have used more energy and tension. All of them were good actors, so I feel just about anyone might expect a bigger picture.
It's very low key. ...but there are those who obviously like it more than myself. So, with all due respect to tham and the actors who are no longer here, I still rate "They All Laughed" with 5 stars.
Stratten was just getting underway in acting, who knows what she could have brought to film, had she not been killed? Gazzara, Hepburn and Ritter...the movie takes nothing away from their great careers. (END)
Goes without saying, I expected 2 hours of high comedy from him and the cast. I may have also taken the title literally then. It's safe to say, many young people can take things like a movie trailer at face value.
Nothing of an "overwhelming" nature happens throughout the film but the main point is, the men in the movie are detectives hired to follow these women , to see if they are engaging in marital infidelity aka cheating on their husbands.
It takes a little while to figure out just where the story is headed but what's clear is Ben Gazzara, John Ritter and Blaine Novak work for the Odyssey Detective Agency, which is truthfully advertised by the line 'We never sleep'.
Gazzara's been assigned to track Audrey Hepburn's character by her husband, while Ritter & Novak trail Dorothy Stratten as she slips away from her husband, to rendezvous with young Sean Ferrer's character.
Oddly, Audrey didn't speak for the entire first hour (much of the film is devoted to the vague observation on the part of the detectives), but ultimately she emerges as the most mature and discreet character in the group, in terms of how she carries herself and her affairs.
Certain plot points have an eerie resemblances to the cirumstances leading up to Stratten's real life 1980 murder, as she too, had been followed by a detective hired by her husband. (See the movie "Star 80", for better detail on her life events.)
A palm reading scene in where Ritter predicts that her marriage will come to a swift end ( and she wonders if she has much time left ) is chilling for those familiar with the Stratten case.
To the 13 year old me, this was a bit confusing as I really did have very little idea why all this running around New York was going on.
I remember only laughing at 2 things then. Ritter is in Stratten's apartment, her dog doesn;t like him. There's this little window, with a tiny stone ledge for placing a plant. He looks at that, then the dog, "You wanna go play on the balcony?"
What's amazing is that Ritter had worked with Peter Bogdonovich before and with great results. The results here are merely, adequete.
The other one , is the detective with long hair, has it all tucked underhis hat at first, then in some store, removes the hat to reveal its length. I wasn't expecting that.
Otherwise, I found it dull and confusing. Anyhow, long after that time, I found the movie on video and rewatched it. It made more sense and I understood it all and it's point...but for me, it wasn't any the less dull.
I'm not for marital infidelity but I found it hard to find the urgency in the situation.
I can only say the actors did a 'good' job but it honestly could have used more energy and tension. All of them were good actors, so I feel just about anyone might expect a bigger picture.
It's very low key. ...but there are those who obviously like it more than myself. So, with all due respect to tham and the actors who are no longer here, I still rate "They All Laughed" with 5 stars.
Stratten was just getting underway in acting, who knows what she could have brought to film, had she not been killed? Gazzara, Hepburn and Ritter...the movie takes nothing away from their great careers. (END)