Oscar

A door-slamming comedy that takes place over a single morning. Snaps Provolone is a gangster. He promises his dying father that he will move into legitimate business and do the family no harm. The next morning he has a meeting with bankers, and until then everything has to look respectable. The morning does not go that way. His accountant announces he wants to marry his daughter, his daughter announces she wants to run away, the maid quits, and three similar-looking bags start circulating through the house: one with money, one with jewellery, one with laundry. Doors open and close and nobody quite listens to anybody. The structure comes straight from stage comedy. The source is a French play, which had already been filmed in France. Sylvester Stallone plays Snaps; it was an experiment in moving an actor then known for action films entirely into comedy. Marisa Tomei and Vincent Spano are in the cast. John Landis directed. It was poorly received on release but found an audience of its own over time. An enjoyable experiment for anyone who likes classical farce and humour built on fast dialogue. For a viewer expecting action from Stallone, the film is built entirely on talk and misunderstanding.