George Gaynes has a serious role in this excellent feature, and this was produced 10 years after he gained newfound fame as Commander Lassard in the first Police Academy movie believe it or not.Vanya on 42nd Street deserves way more recognition. It's innovative, bold, and the performance is seamless with the audience watching. I have to get my hands on the criterion collection DVD, because there's so much I want to learn about the behind-the-scenes of this fine movie.The movie also featured Brooke Smith, who only three years earlier was in The Silence of the Lambs.Phoebe Brand, Jerry Mayer, Lynn Cohen, and Madhur Jaffrey also deserve recognition.

If you are familiar with the play, you will marvel at the subtlety of the transition - from Monday-morning chatter about the weekend's activities among the cast members who have gathered for a rehearsal - to the play itself: Suddenly the dialog among the actors becomes identical with the lines in the play, the actors have, unbeknownst to viewers who haven't seen or read the play a few times, taken on their roles and begun the rehearsal/performance, a device which makes the action seem all the more authentically real and human. An interesting comment made to me by a Russian author(ess) whom I know: At the end when Sonya tells Uncle Vanya that in the bye and bye everything will be alright ("God will take pity on us...and we will rest"), in this Franco-American production Sonya seems to believe her own optimistically comforting words, whereas in a Russian production she - and Vanya - would know that any hope is only an illusion.

"Uncle Vanya" is a wonderful bare bones adaptation of one of the theater's classic plays. Let's face it, the average American who had to read Checkov in some required high school English class, was probably bored to tears. Same with Ibsen, Shakespeare, O'Neill, and any other classic dramatist.Mamet's adaptation gives us a "Vanya" that has truths that are universally identifiable. We can easily sympathize or empathize with all of the characters. This "toned down" version is perfect for getting the audience absorbed without having to rely on costumes or Russian settings.Malle is at his best with this film. He tells the story simply, and allows his actors to take the time to find truth in the moment. Though you know that you are watching a presentation of a play, it never feels "staged" to the point of being false.The acting is magnificent, all the way around. Larry Pine shines as the doctor who is a friend to Vanya. Julianne Moore is wonderful as the woman whom Vanya and the Doctor love.My only problem with the film was the casting of Wallace Shawn as Vanya. His whiny voice and too often closed eyes irritated me to the point where I found his scenes difficult to watch.This says a lot about the other performances and other aspects of the film. That to have a pivotal character be miscast, and yet find the rest of the film compelling, is a credit to the others involved.

Before I first saw this movie late last year Wallace Shawn was a nobody to me. I had seen him in various bit parts usually as a character actor and I never liked him. But as Vanya he was superb, worthy of an Academy Award, and I now look forward to seeing him again. Julianne Moore also surprised me. I had always thought of her as a trashy actress without any talent, only her body which isn't that exciting. In this film however, she showed that she can act and for the first time, I liked her.