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Punchline

R Released Sep 7, 1988 2h 3m Comedy Drama List
60% Tomatometer 20 Reviews 43% Audience Score 5,000+ Ratings
Lilah Krytsick (Sally Field) is a mother and housewife who's always believed she could be a stand-up comedian. Steven Gold (Tom Hanks) is an experienced stand-up seemingly on the cusp of success. When the two meet, they form an unlikely friendship, and Steven tries to help the untried Lilah develop her stage act. Despite the objections of her family and some very wobbly beginnings, Lilah improves, and soon she finds herself competing with Steven for a coveted television spot. Read More Read Less
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Critics Reviews

View All (20) Critics Reviews
Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times The problem may be that the movie isn't nearly tough enough. It needs to be more hard-boiled, more merciless in its dissection of egos, more perceptive about the cutthroat nature of show business. Rated: 2/4 Jan 1, 2000 Full Review Rene Jordan El Nuevo Herald (Miami) Tom Hanks gets a job so brilliant, so ambivalent, that it's hard to know whether to laugh, cry, or watch him dance beneath the rain. [Full review in Spanish] Jun 15, 2022 Full Review Emily Sears Birth.Movies.Death. As someone who prefers her comedy with a side of melancholy, I'd say that the performance from Tom Hanks alone makes this a worthwhile watch. Sep 26, 2017 Full Review Cathy Burke United Press International Though Punchline defies the Hollywood penchant for producing either pure comedy or straight drama, its view of those with the guts to stand before an audience and dare them to laugh is oddly uplifting. Aug 23, 2016 Full Review Steve Crum Video-Reviewmaster.com Unfunny, at times morose, comedy-drama about standup comics. Rated: 3/5 Mar 23, 2008 Full Review David Kaplan Kaplan vs. Kaplan Rated: 4/5 Mar 1, 2008 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (133) audience reviews
Geke g The very first step of tom hanks’s legendary career Rated 5 out of 5 stars 07/30/24 Full Review Munkhchimeg T Terrific. Cast is the best 👍 Rated 5 out of 5 stars 07/30/24 Full Review Kirsten W Love the stars, love the story. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/23/24 Full Review Steve D The arc between Sally Fields & Goodman was fullfilling. Hanks performs a Singing in the Rain parody of interest - back when his physical comedy was a major part of his repertoire. The stand up comedy segments were very dated, but don't go into it expecting the stand up to be riveting. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 12/22/23 Full Review Jim A Horrible film. The problem is most of it was written by Barry Sobel, an absolutely UNFUNNY "stand up comic". The old cliche of audience laughing way too hard and the lame comedians is so over the top, it made me cringe. Acting was ok all around , especially by John Goodman, but the "comedy" was just horrendously bad. Didn't even smirk at any of the so called comics, yet Hanks' character is supposed to be some comedy wizard? NO. Just awful writing. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 04/02/23 Full Review steve d With this talent it should be better, Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Punchline

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Punchline

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Movie Info

Synopsis Lilah Krytsick (Sally Field) is a mother and housewife who's always believed she could be a stand-up comedian. Steven Gold (Tom Hanks) is an experienced stand-up seemingly on the cusp of success. When the two meet, they form an unlikely friendship, and Steven tries to help the untried Lilah develop her stage act. Despite the objections of her family and some very wobbly beginnings, Lilah improves, and soon she finds herself competing with Steven for a coveted television spot.
Director
David Seltzer
Producer
Daniel Melnick, Michael I. Rachmil
Distributor
Columbia Pictures
Production Co
Fogwood Films, Columbia Pictures Corporation
Rating
R
Genre
Comedy, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Sep 7, 1988, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 1, 2011
Box Office (Gross USA)
$20.3M
Runtime
2h 3m
Sound Mix
Surround
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