''Little Noises'' is a 1991

drama comedy Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

film directed by Jane Spencer. The film stars

Crispin Glover Crispin Hellion Glover (born April 20, 1964) is an American actor. He is known for portraying eccentric characters on screen, such as George McFly in ''Back to the Future'' (1985), Layne in ''River's Edge'' (1986), Andy Warhol in ''The Doors' ...

as an awkward and unsuccessful writer who achieves fame after stealing the poetry of a deaf man.

Plot

Joey (

) is an awkward young man who is unsuccessful in his career as a writer. In order to impress his girlfriend Stella (

Tatum O'Neal Tatum Beatrice O'Neal (born November 5, 1963) is an American actress. She is the youngest person ever to win an Academy Award, winning at age 10 for her performance as Addie Loggins in '' Paper Moon'' (1973) opposite her father, Ryan O'Neal. S ...

), Joey steals the poetry of Marty (Matthew Hutton) a

deaf Deafness has varying definitions in cultural and medical contexts. In medical contexts, the meaning of deafness is hearing loss that precludes a person from understanding spoken language, an audiological condition. In this context it is written ...

poet. Not only does Joey succeed, but he also manages to sign with literary agent Mathias (

Rik Mayall Richard Michael Mayall (7 March 1958 – 9 June 2014) was an English actor, stand-up comedian and writer. He formed a close partnership with Ade Edmondson while they were students at Manchester University and was a pioneer of alternative ...

). While Joey is successful, it comes as the cost of Marty's own happiness and the man quickly falls into a deep depression and becomes homeless. Fame quickly goes to Joey's head and as he feels little guilt over the theft or loyalty to his friends and girlfriend, he breaks off communication with all of them.

Cast

as Joey *

as Stella *

Nina Siemaszko Antonina Jadwiga Siemaszko (born July 14, 1970) is an American actress. Best known for her film roles in '' Little Noises'' (1992), ''The Saint of Fort Washington'' (1993), and for her role as Eleanor Bartlet in ''The West Wing'' (2001–2006). ...

as Dolores *

Tate Donovan Tate Buckley Donovan (born September 25, 1963) is an American actor, comedian and television director. He is known for portraying Tom Shayes in ''Damages'', Jimmy Cooper in '' The O.C.'', and the voice of the title character in the 1997 Disney ...

as Elliott *Matthew Hutton as Marty *Gianin Loffler as Wayne Wacker *Steven Schub as Timmy Smith *Cathy Haase as Eve *

as Mathias * John C. McGinley as Stu *

Carole Shelley Carole Augusta Shelley (16 August 1939 – 31 August 2018)Bartlett, Rhett"Carole Shelley, One of the Pigeon Sisters From 'The Odd Couple,' Dies at 79"''The Hollywood Reporter'', 1 September 2018

as Aunt Shirley * Carolyn Farina as Linny *Barry Papick as Bud

Release

''Little Noises'' premiered at the 1991 Sundance Film Festival in the main competition. It also was screened in competition at Goteborg Film Festival in Sweden, and at the Wine Valley Festival in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. ''Little Noises'' was initially intended to be released

direct-to-video Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, TV series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strategy wa ...

but was given a theatrical release by Monument Picture on June 1, 1992 in the United States.

Reception

The

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

gave the film a mostly positive review, noting that while it had "a few flaws" the film was ultimately "a promising debut film filled with talent and feeling", calling Glover's performance 'virtuosic'. The

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television a ...

was less positive and they commented that while they enjoyed Glover's performance, the film "drifts through a number of ill-defined, unnecessary sequences-including scenes involving Nina Siemaszko as a pretty girl with a crush on Joey, and John C. McGinley as the true poet`s drug-dealing brother-before it arrives at its surprisingly bleak conclusion." The

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago ...

wrote a mostly negative review, stating that while the film had some highlights they also felt that the film's subplot was "pretentious" and "overreaching".

References

External links

* 1991 films 1991 comedy-drama films 1990s English-language films American comedy-drama films 1990s American films Films about disability English-language comedy-drama films {{1990s-comedy-drama-film-stub