Classic farce is all about timing, entrances and exits and gags executed with mechanical precision, which is why a play like Michael Frayn's Noises Off works best on stage, where the only point of view is the audience's. But movies are all about motion and montage and seeing things from different angles, which is why Peter Bogdanovich's Noises Off doesn't achieve its full effect on screen. The funniest scenes in the film are the ones in which the camera stands still for long takes in which the performers can execute the action without being interrupted by a cut or a pan or a zoom. There aren't enough of these moments in the movie. That said, it's still a very funny movie, exactly what you'd expect from comic actors like Carol Burnett and John Ritter, from old pros like Michael Caine and Denholm Elliott, and even from surprises like Christopher Reeve, who fits into the ensemble smoothly. But if you've ever seen Noises Off on stage, you know how much better Frayn's gimmick of deconstructing a farce -- seeing it first in rehearsal, then from backstage, and finally in a disastrous but hilarious botched performance -- works there, where it belongs.
