Why Am I So Intrigued By (and Obsessed With) They All Laughed (1981)?
Oscar for Colleen Camp when
Oooh here she comes. She’s a double-poster!
I’ve already posted an essay where I mention Peter Bogdanovitch’s They All Laughed (1981) today. I hadn’t heard of this film two a mere two weeks ago. I have the film playing in the background, which keeps pulling me in if we’re being honest. On the surface, They All Laughed seems to be one of Bogdanovitch’s largely forgotten films. If you aren’t a MAX subscriber, you’d be shelling out a decent amount for a DVD copy. I’m sure some Audrey Hepburn fans have ignored it because she plays a mother, does not speak for the first time until nearly an hour into the film, and her character has not become a universal symbol associated with girlhood and wealth in the decades since its release.
Maybe it’s just pure intrigue. Maybe it’s a sense of nostalgia for an era in a place I’ve barely experienced except for a week-long trip to the CMJ festival a decade ago. I know there’s a word for having a sense of nostalgia for a time you’ve never experienced. New York City, on the heels of John Lennon’s tragic passing, has been depicted as a place ruled by sleaze and cigarettes in my mind. Perhaps seeing it portrayed as a pure romp on film challenges that longstanding snapshot in my mind. Seeing Ben Gazzarra (John Russo), whose work I am largely unfamiliar with, lead this romp, could be a reason. Gazzarra is a sly, divorced father of two daughters, with an incredible amount of charm. John’s personality is so magnetic to the point of hooking multiple women, (Hepburn) and Patti Hansen’s cab driver Deborah, whom he calls “Sam” throughout the film.
It could be the effortless comedic talent of John Ritter, Blaine Novak (who also wrote the film alongside Bogdanovich), and Colleen Camp. Maybe it’s because I’ve never seem an episode of Three’s Company1, but Ritter’s comedic work behind the bumbling detective Charles Rutledge hooked me immediately. Much of Charles’ storyline revolves around pure slapstick, but we’re able to truly appreciate him. Novak is one of the film’s biggest highlights, playing Arthur Brodsky, a womanizer with a heart. The real highlight of the film for me, is Colleen Camp’s Christy Miller, an extremely self-assured country singer. Camp nails every scene she’s in, and can cut anybody like a knife.
Maybe it’s the way all of the characters interact with one another. Their relationships are defined by impermanence, a concept I cannot grasp as a hopeless romantic and a recovering jealous girlie. As writer Carrie Courogen writes about the relationship between Gazzarra and Hepburn’s characters, “They both know the relationship won’t go anywhere (her husband hired him to follow her, even though he’s the one cheating) and will only be brief (she’s only in town for a few weeks), but they both can’t deny they feel something that they haven’t felt before, or haven’t felt in a long time, when they’re together.”2
The relationships in They All Laughed are much like the city wherein the film is set; nothing is ever stagnant. Life keeps moving, and it isn’t criminal for feelings to change, but having foresight can act as armor. I think I’m fascinated by how the main characters are still bound together despite all of the noise and change. Everyone is constantly evolving because they all have this little thing called emotional maturity!!! Will I ever have a level of emotional maturity akin to these fictitious people, or be able to accept the outcome of my past relationships??? The world may never know.
It could be the aftermath of the tragic events surrounding actress Dorothy Stratten. Stratten, who played Ritter’s assignment and eventual love interest Dolores, was murdered by her husband shortly after the film wrapped. IMDB notes that major studios were reluctant to back the film due to perceived public perception. Bogdanovich, who was dating Stratten, detailed the tragedy in his book, The Killing of the Unicorn, which is available to read on the Internet Archive. When a film’s legacy is largely influenced by events that seem like they could be a film plot, inevitable intrigue follows.
They All Laughed is a film built on relationships that could only take place during a bygone era in history, but is strengthened by the cast’s strong chemistry and the whimsey that results. I’m not sure whether I want to laugh or gawk at this film, but I know I want to do it over and over.
They All Laughed is currently available to stream on MAX.
STOP LOOKING AT ME LIKE THAT. I KNOW.
