Punchline
Short description
Punchline is a comedy drama about Lilah Krytsick, a New Jersey housewife and mother of three who has long been told she is funny and decides to try stand-up comedy at a New York club. There she meets Steven Gold, a far more experienced performer who is close to a breakthrough of his own. The two become friends, and Steven coaches her on stagecraft, though her family is skeptical about her new pursuit. As Lilah gains confidence in front of audiences, the two end up competing for the same television opportunity.
David Seltzer directed and wrote the film, his second feature after Lucas in 1986. Sally Field plays Lilah and Tom Hanks plays Steven, with John Goodman as her husband, plus Mark Rydell, Kim Greist and Paul Mazursky in supporting roles across a credited cast of 69.
Made by Columbia Pictures for about 15 million dollars, the film took in roughly 21 million worldwide. On IMDb it holds 5.9 out of 10 from around 9,800 votes, and on TMDB 5.6 from 159 votes. A critics' rating of 5.3 from 21 reviews places it slightly below the audience scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- To prepare for their roles, Tom Hanks and Sally Field practiced performing in comedy clubs. Stand-up comedian Susie Essman and comedy writer Dottie Archibald trained Field for the role. Archibald also worked as a consultant on the project, inviting various stand-up comedians to participate in the filming. Barry Sobel, a comedian, and Randy Fecter, a comedy writer, helped Hanks. During rehearsals, a then-up-and-coming comedian, Chris Rock, shared the stage with Hanks. And Sally Field performed alongside Adam Sandler.
- Originally, in 1979, David Zelzer wrote a screenplay based on his experience visiting comedy clubs. Howard Zieff was then attached to direct the project. When Zieff left the project, work on it was suspended. In 1986, Daniel Melnick stumbled upon the script in the Columbia Pictures studio archives and wanted to revive the project. Initially, it was planned as a low-budget film without well-known actors, but then the studio sent the script to Sally Field. When she agreed to star in and produce the film, the budget increased, and Tom Hanks was cast in the lead role.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
