Word: slapsticker
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...task of teaching lady-in-waiting Dulcibella (Elijah Aron) how to impersonate an alluring princess. Aron squirms delicately, wincing with dim-witted charm as Brown gropes after her (his?) pert, irresistable tennis-ball bosoms. Aron's hysterical Dulcibella is reminiscent of Woody Allen in some of his more slapstick roles. And Aron's boobs stand out to such a degree that they seem to have their own personality...
This film could easily have degenerated into boring moralism or vacuous exploitation. But a wry sense of humor links these two strains without letting either predominate. Key ideas lie cloaked in outrageous jokes both slapstick and morbid. As a scene involving lobsters and mayonnaise proves, a well-chosen coating can make even the thorniest issues more palatable...
...eternal shame. Don Pedro's brother, Don John (Ian Lithgow), on the other hand, is interpreted as a buffoon. He is a Peter Ustinov-style villain, bumbling and ineffectual. The comic actors take the Shakespearean "rude mechanical" to the limit. Dogberry and Verges (Tom Giordano) revel in the slapstick. So, too, do Borachio and Conrade--at times at the expense of the darker, more thoughtful side of the play...
David Marmor, as the stellar editor of the Liberal Press, and Ishir Bahn, as his trusty sidekick, the chair of the homeowners' council, have sophisticated acting styles, but crude parts. They shout and wave their arms a lot in an effective rendition of two almost slapstick characters. Amory Downes as Mrs. Stockmann and Michelle Sullivan as her daughter perform competently...
...tension hinges on the relations between Bunny, Artie and Bananas. Precisely because of the unconventionality of the drama, it is a relief that Nye, on the whole, gives a faithful interpretation: Nye's delicate orchestration of events matches Guare's script smoothly, carefully steering clear of both melodrama and slapstick humor...