哄堂大笑

From its bravura, dialogue-free opening sequence to its exhilarating roller-skating rink centerpiece, They All Laughed, a romantic comedy about a pair of private detectives who fall in love with the women they’re hired to follow, is a valentine to early 1980s Manhattan and a joyous return to form for Bogdanovich. One of his great, unfairly overlooked films, They All Laughed brims with generous goodwill towards all of its characters, tempered by a bittersweet understanding of love’s disappointments, embodied in the relationship between Audrey Hepburn’s neglected wife and Ben Gazzara’s world-weary private eye. John Ritter’s brilliant performance as a smitten investigator combines slapstick physical comedy with a touching vulnerability that encapsulates Bogdanovich’s deep sympathy for the underdog.