Punchline

Directed by David Seltzer, Punchline follows two struggling comics (Tom Hanks’ Steven and Sally Field’s Lilah) as they attempt to make it in the cutthroat world of standup comedy. It’s appealing subject matter that’s employed to initially promising yet ultimately underwhelming effect by Seltzer, which is a shame, ultimately, given that Punchline kicks off with a tremendously appealing opening stretch that benefits from its stars’ stellar efforts – with both Hanks and Field offering up personable, appealing work that remains a continuing highlight within the progressively erratic proceedings. There’s little doubt, then, that Punchline‘s overall impact is seriously affected by a palpably overlong running time and proliferation of far-from-enthralling subplots and digressions (eg the potentially romantic trajectory of Steven and Lilah’s relationship), and it’s clear, too, that the padded-out (and flat-out interminable) climax, which revolves around the lengthy (and deeply unfunny) standup sets by several characters, ensures that the picture peters out to a fairly disastrous extent – with the end result a disappointing misfire that feels like it could (and should) be so much better.

** out of ****