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IMDb user comments for
"American Playhouse" Who Am I This Time? (1982)


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8 out of 8 people found the following comment useful :-
Unsurpassed tour de force for two fine actors, 3 October 1998
10/10
Author: Kent Smith (kentsmit@gte.net)

As a play within a play (contains scenes from Streetcar Named Desire) it is a showcase for the range of these excellent actors -- Susan Sarandon and Christopher Walken. It is also a sensitive tale of lonely people finding each other and their hearts.

If the well-earned emotions generated do not bring tears of happiness at the end, perhaps you should look for your own heart.

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5 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
This one will touch your heart!, 30 March 2001
Author: teejay-4 from USA

One of my all-time favorite Christopher Walken films, this is the story of painfully shy hardware store clerk, Harry Nash. Harry lives his life as a tongue-tied outcast but, once in character on stage, he comes to life. Anyone out there who thinks that the only characters that Walken can play are villians should definitely see this one! Walken is one of the great ones, with a sensitivity and range to prove it! A real gem!

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4 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
Utterly delightful., 5 November 2000
10/10
Author: tygerbright from California

I show this film to whoever I can. It's heartwarming without ever being saccharine. Walken and Saradon are marvelous together, the script is great, the evocation of the small town theatre group perfect. There are several uses of the play within a play theme, all of them perfect. I especially loved the game played with The Importance of Being Earnest.

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5 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
Walken and Sarandon are Excellent, 6 January 2006
8/10
Author: richlandwoman from Los Angeles

Walken gives a funny, sweet performance as a community theater acting dynamo and heart-throb -- who's so shy he can't hold a conversation unless it's scripted.

Sarandon is also very good as the woman who falls in love with him and attempts to bring him out of his off-stage shell.

To be honest, though, this TV movie suffers a bit from very cheap production values, occasionally weak direction, and mediocre performances by much of the rest of the cast -- even apart from their purposely amateurish play-within-a-play acting.

In addition, it's one of the few movies I've seen that's actually too short. It would have benefited from at least one more off-stage scene further developing Walken's and Sarandon's characters.

Still, I like it a lot and highly recommend it.

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3 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
Play Within A Play, 18 November 1998
Author: CandyR from North Carolina

An early work for actors Christopher Walken, Susan Serandon, and director Jonathan Demme. A great story adapted from Kurt Vonnegut. This is a very sweet story of two shy people finding each other and expressing themselves through commonly known dialogue from different plays. An adorable pair with great chemistry.

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4 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
Great rendition of Kurt Vonnegut's short story, 28 January 2005
Author: ncalz from United States

This is one of my favorites, I only wish it would come out on DVD. Kurt Vonnegut's early work of fiction aims right at the heart, and he's a crack shot! Chris Walken and Sue Sarandon are marvelous in this light, yet poignant play within a play. Don't we all wish we could unlock the secrets in the heart of the person we love? Vonnegut has written a love story and the cast has made it soar. Production values are almost non existent but it was a PBS show, and the story and characters shine through beautifully. Loved it, and recommend it to everyone I know. In fact, I have shown it to just about everyone I know and it's a favorite with everyone who sees it!

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4 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
Spectacular!!, 24 January 2000
10/10
Author: lunatik89 from Savannah, GA USA

If I had to to describe this in one word, it would be; Spectacular! This contains possibly the best acting that i have ever seen in my life. I wouldn't hesitate for even a second to recommend this to someone. I didn't think it was possible for a film to out shine the story, but here i have been proved wrong. Once again, Spectacular!

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how to act and love, by Demme and Vonnegut, starring Walken and Sarandon, what more could you want?, 24 April 2008
9/10
Author: MisterWhiplash from United States

To answer that question: that it was longer. Then again to counter that own point, maybe this was a film that was very close to Vonnegut's original story, thus not extending it to feature length or making it an actual theatrical release. As it is it should be just a trifle, but it's more than that. Director Jonathan Demme adds a light air of circumstance to the proceedings, and plants some of his trademarks (notably the precise positioning of the camera on faces, as we all know from most of his films) while letting the actors have at it. And it's quite an amazing piece for those who love theater, and how an actor's mind meets with heart. At the same time it's not sentimental; this story of a woman (Sarandon) who keeps moving from town to town and never settling anywhere or meeting anyone, and a man (Walken) who is an introvert who lets himself out through incredible community theatre productions, who meet on the set of Streetcar Named Desire and fall for each other in the oddest way is about as charming as one could imagine.

Aside from the power of seeing Walken take on iconic parts (i.e. Cyrano, Stanley Kowalski), he's fantastic at being incredibly subtle and at underplaying his meek clerk-turned-star. If you want to see him outside of being the Continental or giving gold watch speeches, come here. And Sarandon is excellent too, in a role that requires her to be compassionate and kind and understanding and blah blah and she does it without flinching in a step. It's short, and sadly not longer (though I'd love to see the 95 minute cut from Argentina!), but it's one of Demme's better efforts of the 90s, a true small-town chamber piece of love.

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