Opposites Collide in ‘Punch and Judy’

Like the dueling puppets for which they’re nicknamed, the antagonists in “Punch and Judy,” Bill Svanoe’s new reluctant buddy comedy at the reopened Century City Playhouse, go at each other with the exaggerated strokes of broad caricature.

Unfortunately, their inevitable rapprochement has ambitions of emotional sensitivity the satirical treatment can’t support, though quality performances offer watchable compensation.

When Marina Cliff (Janice Lynde), the glamorous, pampered ex-wife of a Donald Trumpish billionaire, decides to write a novel, she hires acerbic, struggling ghostwriter Carol Spearman (Joan Darling). Before you can say “Beauty and the Beast,” the two are hurling insults in that curious sitcom dialect where cleverness supersedes believability.

Consistently mistaking contrast for conflict, the play draws on the polar opposition in the women’s temperaments rather than their goals.

Nevertheless, Lynde’s Marina is a delight to watch as shifting fortunes transform her from breezy snob to street-smart opportunist. Carol is a more consistent character, yet the tough integrity Darling finds at her core brings some measure of realistic grounding to the piece. But Darling, who also directed, may have spread herself a little too thin--some of the banter could be more natural in pacing, if not in content.

* “Punch and Judy,” Century City Playhouse, 10508 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles. Thursdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 2 p.m. Ends Jan. 14. $17.50. (213) 660-TKTS. Running time: 1 hour, 55 minutes.