Impostors, The (1998)

The Impostors is a 1998 American farce motion picture directed, written and produced by Stanley Tucci, starring

Oliver Platt, Tucci, Alfred Molina, Tony Shalhoub, Steve Buscemi, and Billy Connolly.

The film, in which Oliver Platt and Stanley Tucci play a Laurel and Hardy-like odd couple of out-of work actors, is set in the depression-era 1930s; indeed, the retro style of the film is a recreation of 1930s screwball comedy. The opening silent sequence harks back to the golden days of silent film. Although the plotting is light, the film is a warm-hearted and charming tribute to the early days of film comedy, fuelled by the eclectic mix of characters, who (as the title suggests) all turn out to be impostors of some kind; but the very diversity of the ensemble turns out to be the film's central point.

The film was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival.