# Help me identify a movie I know very little about **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 11, 2002, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-a-movie-i-know-very-little-about/113449 "2002-06-11T14:10:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![gruven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a9a28c/32.png) [@gruven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gruven)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2002, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-a-movie-i-know-very-little-about/113449/1 "2002-06-11T14:10:28Z")
About a year ago I caught the last 15 minutes or so of a movie on TV. From what I could gather, it involved the cast of a play. You would see them coming backstage and arguing with each other and chasing each other around and then ducking back onstage at the appropriate time to do their lines. The whole thing was totally hilarious, but I have no way to identify it other than that short bit I saw. I don’t know any of the actors in it or anything. But, I’m hoping maybe it’s a little known favorite of some dopers. Am I in luck? ---
**Author:** ![pldennison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9fc29f/32.png) [@pldennison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pldennison)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2002, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-a-movie-i-know-very-little-about/113449/2 "2002-06-11T14:12:13Z")
If I had to guess, I’d venture it was [_Noises Off._](http://us.imdb.com/Title?0105017) Fits your description perfectly. ---
**Author:** ![Zydoll](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Zydoll](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zydoll)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2002, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-a-movie-i-know-very-little-about/113449/3 "2002-06-11T14:29:19Z")
Yep. I’d have to agree with the “Noises Off” guess. My school performed it as a play one year, and it is _hillarious_! Do you remember if Carol Burnett was in the movie you saw? If so, then it probable was “Noises Off”. ---
**Author:** ![gruven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a9a28c/32.png) [@gruven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gruven)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2002, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-a-movie-i-know-very-little-about/113449/4 "2002-06-11T14:38:31Z")
That looks like it might be it! I’ll have to go try to rent it now. Thanks for the quick responses! ---
**Author:** ![NutMagnet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ea5d25/32.png) [@NutMagnet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NutMagnet)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2002, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-a-movie-i-know-very-little-about/113449/5 "2002-06-11T15:34:45Z")
Never saw the movie (heard it sucked), but I saw the play a few times. It’s my all-time fave. It’s a 3-act play which is about an acting troupe preparing for and presenting a play called “Nothing’s On”. Act I - rehearsal - you see the cast rehearsing Nothing’s On from the front of the stage. Act II - performance of Nothing’s On from backstage. Act II - perforance of Nothing’s On from the front of the stage. The hilarity of this play stems from the fact that you know what is going on, or supposed to be going on on the other side of the scenery, while you see it from this side. There are loads of goof ups, love triangles and sabotage. The timing required by the actors has to be impeccable for this to come off. When done right, it’s hilarious. ---
**Author:** ![Payne\_N.Diaz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b77776/32.png) [@Payne\_N.Diaz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Payne_N.Diaz)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2002, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-a-movie-i-know-very-little-about/113449/6 "2002-06-11T18:20:50Z")
That could also be the movie version of “Kiss Me Kate”, in which a divorced couple is cast as the leads in a production of “Taming of the Shrew”. They keep rushing off stage, fighting with each other and their present SOs, then dash back onstage for the next scene. How old is this movie you saw? ---
**Author:** ![gruven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a9a28c/32.png) [@gruven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gruven)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2002, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-a-movie-i-know-very-little-about/113449/7 "2002-06-11T19:25:39Z")
It appeared to be a 90’s movie. Reading the descriptions of _Noises Off_ makes it sound like the thing I was looking for. ---
**Author:** ![bonzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/45deac/32.png) [@bonzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bonzer)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2002, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-a-movie-i-know-very-little-about/113449/8 "2002-06-11T19:40:30Z")
There’s a cracking revival of the play running in the West End in London at the moment and I believe I’ve seen talk of that transfering to Broadway. The detail I’d add to **NutMagnet** ’s synopsis is that Act II is backstage on the opening night and Act III is the last night of the tour, seen from the front. And quite a lot’s evidently happened between the cast over the several weeks in the interim. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2002, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-a-movie-i-know-very-little-about/113449/9 "2002-06-11T20:05:00Z")
Definitely sounds like _Noises Off._ The original play is by Michael Frayn, who recently garnered acclaim for his new play _Copenhagen_ (buffs of quantum physics will be especially interested in the new play’s subject). The film version is directed by Peter Bogdanovich, who was trying to get back to the hit-farce model of _What’s Up Doc?_ Unfortunately, the movie is nowhere near as good as a successful mounting of the play. First off, it’s British, and the humor depends a lot on cultural context; most of the movie cast, if not all, are American. Second, the magic of seeing this split-second-timing comedy unfold before you with no breaks is reduced quite a bit by having it appear on a movie screen, where the actors can repeat business and have only the best versions edited together for the film. So yeah, it’s okay, but if you have a chance to see a good version on stage, don’t hesitate. I saw it for the first time years ago, and I was spasming so hard with laughter I repeatedly bruised my forehead on the top of the seatback in front of me. Had to wear a baseball cap pulled down low for a couple of weeks afterward.