Who's Laughing Now?

Peter Bogdanovich's They All Laughed (1981) is kind of an oddball. In some ways it is exactly of its time, in others, a throwback to the movies of the 70s and of the 30s.

It's a movie about New York - filmed on location, mostly on the streets. It starts with pretty, freckled Patti Hansen driving a cab. She's listening to country music on the radio, and taking a grumpy passenger to the NY Heliport. The passenger meets a rich man, his young son, and wife - Audrey Hepburn, looking a bit like Jackie O, all slim and perfect in a black pantsuit and huge sunglasses. When they leave in a limo, Ben Gazzara gets in the cab and follows them into the city. Gazzara calls Hansen Sam and flirts with her quite a bit. A sly dog.

He has her drop him off when he picks up his two daughters (played by Bogdanovich's daughters). They like Hansen, but they seem to like all of his girlfriends, singling out Christy (Colleen Camp), because she's funny.

We also find John Ritter and Blaine Novack tailing a woman, Dorothy Stratten. Ritter has oversized glasses and is acting something between Woody Allen and Rick Moranis. Novack, who co-wrote the script with Bogdanovich, has a biker Fu-Manchu, a huge newsboy cap and rollerskates tied around his neck. Great way to blend in. Later, we find a massive head of curly hair under the cap, so maybe it's for the best. 

They track her to her house, and Novack hands him a joint to keep him company on the stakeout. They're stoner detectives, a genre you don't see that often.

Gazarra, Ritter and Novack meet up at the detective agency they work at. Gazarra is assigned to follow Hepburn and Ritter and Novack are following Stratten, who Ritter has clearly fallen for. Christy, a country singer played by Colleen Camp bursts in, breaks up with Gazarra and drags Ritter away. And on we go.

Gazarra's method of tailing Hepburn leads to him introducing himself, and disarming her by letting his daughters meet his son. And eventually sleeping with her. Meanwhile Ritter has to use Camp as a beard to get close to Stratten - although he also tries to track her at the Roxy skating rink. Since he has finished a joint and can't skate anyway, this is a good way to show off his pratfall skills.

This is all shot in and around New York locations, including the Rockefeller Center and F.A.O. Schwartz. With Ben Gazarra juggling girlfriends and soulfully wooing Hepburn, it could almost be a Cassavetes. The male attitudes about love and marriage, plus the free-wheeling script make it seem like classic New Hollywood. But there's also a strong screwball feeling, like old Hollywood (like Bogdanovich reached for in For Pete's Sake). Then there's the inside stuff - Gazarra and Hepburn had recently had an affair. Hepburn's son was in the movie, but not playing her son. He was an adult, so he played the guy Stratten was fooling around with, until Camp snagged him. 

And then there's Dorothy Stratten. She was living with Bogdanovich, and her husband killed her between the movie wrapping and its opening. That sort of killed this movie's chances of finding an audience. No one would release it, so Bogdanovich tried to distribute it himself, which didn't work. He lost his shirt and most of his sanity over this. It definitely affects the way you think about Ritter stalking her.

So I'm not sure if this is a good movie, but it sure is interesting. It even showcased that time window of time were New York was into country music. I guess this period lasted from Urban Cowboy until Rhinestone Cowboy?