THE question that immediately springs to mind is why anyone would bother to do a documentary about an unsuccessful Broadway play. The only way to vindicate all the problems, misunderstandings, complications and so on is to prove that it all worked all right in the end, everybody loved it, and it's another great American success story showing how hard work and determination is bound to get you glory in the end. The most interesting thing is the amount of changes the play goes through before being shown to a paying New York City audience. Everyone wants to put in their two cents worth; everyone - including the actors - thinks they know what will work best.

The most hilarious aspect of "Moon Over Broadway" is the idea of bringing in a New Jersey dentist to write the jokes, as the writer is evidently not too hot in that department. What does become clear is that, as in a marriage, or any group endeavour, the word of the day is compromise. The focus, naturally, revolves around the critics: the actors definitely don't want to know if there's a critic in the house; the writer's chief worry is being humiliated in front of the whole world; the producer claims he will not let the critics rule his life or interfere with his genial good humour; the PR people use the critics' words to come up with their own reviews.

Filmed in 'true' grainy and jumpy documentary style, the film almost, but not quite, reaches out and exposes the nature of the people involved; as Tom Moore says about the play, the whole thing is oddly anti-climactic.