Bedtime Story

Everyone knows or at least suspects that there is a significant difference between film acting and theater acting. Many famous theater actors had issues when they first acted in front of cameras and had to tone down their gestures and facial expressions. Similarly, many film stars completely failed on the theatrical stage. The same difference applies to the adaptation of a subject in a play and a film. Theater can afford much greater exaggeration and stylization, which would look forced or inappropriate in a film. This is exactly what happened with Bedtime Story, which doesn't deny its theatrical origins, and its gags and acting style clearly belong on the stage. All the scenes where one character doesn't see another, etc., are appreciated or accepted by the audience in the theater, but on screen, they look unnatural. However, this film by Krejčík has three top-notch character actors who also possess immense comedic talent, and they give it their all, passing jokes between each other and it's a joy to watch how they provoke each other to achieve maximum performance. Despite this fact, and considering the above, I choose to give this film a lower rating. It's simply too artificial, and it would work much better as a recording of a theater performance. Overall impression: 65%. (31/10/2011)

Je me rends très souvent au théâtre et m’intéresse tant aux pièces qu’aux auteurs et prestations des comédiens. Parfois, je leur donne plus de valeur qu’aux films. Par contre, je ne suis pas toujours enchanté quand une pièce donnée est adaptée au grand écran. C’est que j’ai déjà été déçu plus d’une fois ! En l’occurrence, je n’avais pas vu la pièce modèle, mais je me risque à penser que j'aurais préféré la pièce au film. Le film ne m’a pas du tout emballé, je me suis ennuyé et je l’ai regardé en plusieurs fois. Et je pense que pour la première fois, Josef Abrhám m’a presque rebuté par sa prestation. (01/04/2014)