Meet Arthur (Tucci) and Maurice (Platt), two unemployed
actors-turned-stowaways on a luxury liner overflowing with the looniest,
liveliest assortment of mixed nuts ever to set sail. Perpetually in search of
an opportunity to act, Arthur and Maurice must give the performances of a
lifetime to evade the ship's officers and foil the dastardly plot of an
outrageously deranged crewman. It's unfortunate to report that The
Impostors--a misguided, but slightly noble, attempt to return to both the Hope
and Crosby Road movies as well as the screwball comedies of the '30s and '40s
--really, really doesn't work. Writer, director, and star Stanley Tucci (who
created the gorgeous Big Night) plays Arthur, who along with Maurice (Oliver
Platt) finds himself stowing away on an ocean liner and forced into multiple
masquerades. The film has a dream cast of supporting players, including Steve
Buscemi, Tony Shalhoub, Isabella Rossellini, and Campbell Scott, but the humor
never works and this vessel founders quickly. --Keith Simanton