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Audrey Hepburn, Ben Gazzara, Dorothy Stratten, Colleen Camp, John Ritter ... see more see more... , Patti Hansen , George Morfogen , Blaine Novak , Sean Hepburn Ferrer , Linda MacEwen , Glenn Scarpelli , Vassili Lambrinos , Antonia Bogdanovich , Alexandra Bogdanovich , Shawn Casey , Lisa Dunsheath , Joyce Hyser , Tzi Ma , Elizabeth Peņa , Jo-El Sonnier , Sheila Stodden , Earl Poole Ball

Peter Bogdanovich wrote and directed this quirky romantic comedy that was shelved by Twentieth Century-Fox for a year, until Bogdanovich purchased the film from Fox and tried to distribute it himself,... read more read more... with limited success. Suave John Russo (Ben Gazzara), inept Charles Rutledge (John Ritter), and hip Arthur Brodsky (Blaine Novak) all work for a detective agency, where they are assigned to follow a trio of beautiful women -- Angela Niotes (Audrey Hepburn), Deborah Wilson (Patti Hansen) and Dolores Martin (Dorothy Stratten) -- whom their husbands think are cheating on them. Soon the three detectives all become romantically involved with the women they are trailing. In a real life scenario that overshadowed the film itself, Bogdanovich was having an affair with Dorothy Stratten during the production and they were being followed by a detective hired by her husband Paul Snider, who as a result ended up murdering his wife and himself. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

Flixster Users

51% liked it

544 ratings

Critics

33% liked it

6 critics

PG, 1 hr. 55 min.

Directed by: Peter Bogdanovich

Release Date: August 14, 1981

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DVD Release Date: October 17, 2006

Stats: 41 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (41)


  • August 16, 2010
    Turns easygoing simplicity into a mundane affectation. In a way this is Bogdanovich's version of a Woody Allen romance-and-infidelity NY comedy, told in reverence for the Hollywood Golden Age. The dialogue tries to pass off a lot of sub-par shmoozing as poetry, which is a major s... read moretep below the achievements of Saint Jack. If this movie is accurate, it was never more easy than in NYC c. 1981 to make instant friends, to "meet someone" on a given afternoon and to run into them the next day on the sidewalk.

    Characters are supposed to be preternaturally cool or elegant and every man is a smoothy or a klutzy charmer. The movie is not so much in love with women as it is in love with different types of dapperness in men and with lustfully pining for Dorothy Stratton. But there's a lot of treasure here for people who love movies, in the shots and the performances and a witty end credit sequence.

    All the women are good, even Colleen Camp after you get over her being directed to deliver lines like a typewriter. John Ritter, doing Bogdonavich, may be at his best. Blaine Novack is quite a character; Patti Hansen is the cab driver of every boy's dreams; and Dorothy Stratten can look like a genuine star and chew gum at the same time.
  • September 16, 2009
    Audrey is wonderfully elegant and Dorothy Stratten glows with potential, such a waste, and while the film isn't bad it just sort of strolls along with nothing happening. Colleen Camp in what seems to be a pale imitation of the divine Madeline Kahn in What's Up, Doc? is horrible a... read morend beyond annoying, the total removal of her character would have helped enormously.
  • July 19, 2009
    I had been trying to find this for a while, but unfortunately I was left disappointed. I can't believe this is one of Tarantino's favorite films. The only thing that kept me interested was John Ritter, cause he's one of my favs.
  • April 2, 2012
    a messy tangled web that proved to hit too close to home (& not at the box office). A real pity, it was plain campy, convoluted & pointless, considering twas Hepburn's & Stratten's last film. Speaking of campy, camp's lines were downright irritating and made me wanna walk out a c... read moreoupla times -- except it was our bedroom :P The view of the NY helipads & old cabs were nice though.
  • December 16, 2008
    "'They All Laughed' is my masterpiece," said director Peter Bogdanovich, "because I fell in love with every actress in it."
    Bogdanovich's vacuous assessment of his own film belies the complex and damnably intelligent structure of the best American comedy of the 1980s. Filmed lar... read moregely on the unblocked streets of New York City with a hidden camera, Bogy captures a rawness and authenticity of the Big Apple that Woody Allen could only dream of. And by infusing an ensemble cast with concurrent story lines and improvisatory dialogue, Bogy combines the best of Altman and Cassavetes.

Critic Reviews


Dennis Schwartz
July 12, 2007
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Not much sparkle. Full Review

Fernando F. Croce
October 14, 2006
Fernando F. Croce, Slant Magazine

The film is a delicately staged roundelay of intertwined pursuit. Full Review

Carol Cling
April 28, 2006
Carol Cling, Las Vegas Review-Journal

Hepburn still lights up the screen in this uneven Bogdanovich comedy.

Joe Leydon
October 12, 2001
Joe Leydon, San Francisco Examiner

The movie is wildly uneven, equal parts low-key romance and off-key farce, a screwball comedy played, unaccountably, at three-quarters speed.

March 26, 2009
Variety

Click to read the article Full Review

Vincent Canby
August 30, 2004
Vincent Canby, New York Times

Click to read the article Full Review

Chuck O'Leary
October 8, 2005
Chuck O'Leary, Fantastica Daily

No review available.

Emanuel Levy
July 6, 2005
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

No review available.

Geoff Andrew
February 9, 2006
Geoff Andrew, Time Out

Click to read the article Full Review

May 24, 2003
Film4

Click to read the article Full Review

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

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They All Laughed : Watch Free on TV


They All Laughed Trivia


  • In what Peter Bogdanovich film,starring Audrey Hepburn,do three private investigators, a female cab driver, a bombshell find themselves in the middle of love, comedy and total bedlam?  Answer »

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