This movie is the proof that the world is becoming a sick and dumb place

Absolutely brilliant

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

I suppose we're lucky that this film ever got out at all for the movie going public to see. With the tragic murder of Dorothy Stratten all set to break out into a film career and her connection with director Peter Bogdanovich the big studios thought the whole thing all to sordid. Bogdanovich went bankrupt buying the film from 20th Century Fox and getting it released as best he could.It was his work and a labor of love in every sense of the word. They All Laughed is a story about a detective agency where the operators just can't stop mixing business with pleasure. They're spying on several women and then get involved with all of them. I mean they are a fetching lot, but apparently no one puts their libido on hold.The biggest names in the cast are Ben Gazzara and Audrey Hepburn who had co-starred previously in Bloodlines, a truly mediocre film. But this is an ensemble piece and having the biggest box office names doesn't translate into screen time. Gazzara as a detective gets as much time it seems as John Ritter and Blaine Novak. These guys are spying on Hepburn, Stratten, and Colleen Camp. Around as a girl Friday is Patti Hansen who drives a cab and seems always available for the operatives of George Morfogen's agency.Some lovely viewing of Manhattan during the year 1980 including the once and future twin towers. One thing that made no sense was Colleen Camp as a country singer. Now having lived in New York for almost 50 years I can say that there are no country type bars in Manhattan that have even middle line singers like Camp. Maybe Bogdanovich should have had Camp be a piano bar performer or changed the locale to a city like Houston.There was also certainly not enough Hepburn. This was an improvement over Bloodlines, but They All Laughed will never rank as one of Audrey Hepburn's great films.

They All Laughed (1981)Peter Bogdanovich had directed two real classics of 1970s American Cinema before this one, The Last Picture Show and Paper Moon. Both are heartfelt, somewhat romanticized, and sensitive movies. That's all I knew of him before seeing They All Laughed, and I was surprised at the choppy, slight, throwaway quality to it all. The acting varies hugely from John Ritter being vaguely comic to Audrey Hepburn (yes!) being vaguely Audrey Hepburn. Ritter is used too much and Hepburn not enough. Ben Gazzara can be terrific but here he is supposed to be the stellar ladies man, cool and profound and worldly, and he doesn't pull it off, which becomes an embarrassment. Add some minor characters really struggling, and you begin to think it isn't the acting, but the directing, that keeps it from taking off.There are several layered plots at work here, and the stuttered construction might have held water with more pieces intact. But more to the point might be the basic premise of the plot or plots. There is genuine adolescent girl watching (and drooling), there is an adult love affair that doesn't quite make sense, there is a crime or two at work behind the scenes (and taxis and helicopters and such). It's cobbled together and filmed rather routinely and in general leaves you feeling disoriented and sorry you got involved. Yeah, that disappointing.

Most of the major actors here do their best with not much to work with. The plot is nonsensical and way over the top. The dialogue seemed to be written by an amateur even though Peter Bogdanovich actually wrote it. This is supposed to be a romantic comedy. If so it's a comedy without any comedy and not much romance. The saving grace here is the nostalgic factor. Watching Audrey Hepburn and Ben Gazarra is a pleasure and in a different movie they may have further contributed to their impressive careers. In this mess, their scenes are impressive to watch precisely for their skill but what their characters do defies logic and you simply just don't buy it. John Ritter is very good and Dorothy Stratton holds her own because all she really has to do is look gorgeous. Collen Camp is, at best, mediocre and the weakest link in this cast. This film is only for film buffs who want to relive an era and marvel at the grace and charm of Ms. Hepburn. They may have all laughed but they weren't watching this movie when they did!!!

Since the day I saw this film when it came out in 1981, it has been one of my top 3 favorites. The blurb I wrote for Amazon is below, and I'm just thrilled that it's finally coming out on DVD on 10/17/06 - the film's 25th anniversary.The last credit in this film explains its appeal - "Thank you to the people of Manhattan on whose island this was filmed." A charming and witty romantic comedy, it is a love story written to New Yorkers (Peter Bogdanovich is a native) who can identify every location (West 12th Street, the Ansonia, the old FAO Schwartz, the Plaza, the Roxy, Chez Brigitte, and City Limits which was a country & western club). One gets the impression that the entire ensemble cast clicked as well off-screen as they do on, and this intimacy is clearly communicated. I laughed, I cried, it was better than CATS. Not only an ode to Dorothy Stratten, it was also Audrey Hepburn's last feature appearance (she had a cameo subsequent to this film) and her inner beauty seeps from the screen. Buy it, make a big tub of popcorn, and curl up with someone you love.