There's a scene in this movie where the beloved but down-on-his-luck singer Happy Franks takes the stage and tells his band leader to play a tender, weepy ballad for his opening number. "Isn't that a little slow?" the band leader asks.
That scene pretty much sums up this movie: Great performers get on screen and you expect a fast-paced, fun time, but instead get a slow, slow movie.
Who to blame? I'm going to have to go with Stanley Tucci. I like Stanley Tucci, but I don't think he's very funny. He plays half of the the film's title duo, and he's teamed with the hilarious Oliver Platt. Platt is great, likable, and funny. Tucci is not. His character has no sense of comic timing, and apparently neither does Tucci, as he wrote and directed this movie. It doesn't have the right pace for a comedy- it takes about half an hour to get them to the boat and have the plot start, and the things that happen before that aren't very interesting (save for a hilarious cameo by the great Woody Allen).
Once they get to the boat and the story begins, the movie picks up considerably. The cast in this movie is fantastic- Steve Buscemi, Billy Connoly, Tony Shalhoub, Lili Taylor, Alfred Molina, Dana Ivey, Hope Davis, Allison Janey, Isabella Rosselini- even the usually stodgy Campbell Scott is great in this. They are all fun to watch, even if they're not doing anything terribly exciting.
I want to like this movie, I do, but it's like watching an improvisational comedy class that goes nowhere. All the scenes that would be great in a "Deleted scenes" section on a DVD were never deleted. It's best when it's madcap and crazy like a Marx Brothers movie, but it's just not funny enough to be recommended.
That scene pretty much sums up this movie: Great performers get on screen and you expect a fast-paced, fun time, but instead get a slow, slow movie.
Who to blame? I'm going to have to go with Stanley Tucci. I like Stanley Tucci, but I don't think he's very funny. He plays half of the the film's title duo, and he's teamed with the hilarious Oliver Platt. Platt is great, likable, and funny. Tucci is not. His character has no sense of comic timing, and apparently neither does Tucci, as he wrote and directed this movie. It doesn't have the right pace for a comedy- it takes about half an hour to get them to the boat and have the plot start, and the things that happen before that aren't very interesting (save for a hilarious cameo by the great Woody Allen).
Once they get to the boat and the story begins, the movie picks up considerably. The cast in this movie is fantastic- Steve Buscemi, Billy Connoly, Tony Shalhoub, Lili Taylor, Alfred Molina, Dana Ivey, Hope Davis, Allison Janey, Isabella Rosselini- even the usually stodgy Campbell Scott is great in this. They are all fun to watch, even if they're not doing anything terribly exciting.
I want to like this movie, I do, but it's like watching an improvisational comedy class that goes nowhere. All the scenes that would be great in a "Deleted scenes" section on a DVD were never deleted. It's best when it's madcap and crazy like a Marx Brothers movie, but it's just not funny enough to be recommended.