Punchline is a 1988 American comedy-drama film written and directed by David Seltzer and distributed by Columbia Pictures.

One rainy evening after Lilah has rejected him, Steven mimes a painful rendition of Gene Kelly's famous dance routine from Singin' in the Rain.

The film culminates in a competition at the "Gas Station" comedy club where Steven, Lilah and other aspiring comedians have been performing.

Lilah leaves with her husband who, after watching his wife do stand-up for the first time, is won over and begins suggesting ideas for her next set.

David Seltzer wrote the first draft for Punchline in 1979 after becoming fascinated by comedy clubs while looking for someone to play a psychiatrist on a television pilot that he was writing.

[4] In 1986, producer Daniel Melnick found the screenplay for Punchline among twelve other unrealized scripts in the vaults of Columbia Pictures.

[4] Seltzer's screenplay had gone through three changes of studio management because the executives didn't like the mix of comedy and drama as well as the Steven Gold character because they thought he was, according to Melnick, "obsessive, certainly self-destructive and could be considered mean-spirited.

[4] Interim studio president Steve Sohmer didn't like that idea and sent the script to Sally Field, who had a production deal with Columbia.

"[6] Two months before Punchline went into production, Tom Hanks wrote a five-minute stand-up act and performed it at the Comedy Store in Los Angeles.

[4] By that point he had enlisted an old friend and comedy writer Randy Fechter and stand-up comic Barry Sobel to help him write his routine.

Chairman of Columbia David Puttnam wanted to release Punchline during the Christmas of 1987, but the film wasn't ready.

[4] Puttnam eventually left, and Dawn Steel moved in and decided to release the film after Big (1988) became a huge hit.

Variety wrote that "Hanks is the real reason to see the film and those who enjoyed watching him in Big will find a different, more realized comedian."