Bullets over Broadway (B+ or 3/4 stars)
'Bullets over Broadway' is a sparkling 1994 comedy from writer/director Woody Allen. The tale takes place in the Roaring 1920s of NYC, where young, struggling, but budding playwright, David Shayne (John Cusack, playing a Woody-type), arrives from Pittsburg with his girlfriend, Ellen (Mary-Louise Parker), and starts accepting the joys of his latest overambitious opus being staged on Broadway. But that is only thanks to selling-out to backing from local ruthless mob boss, Nick Valenti (Joe Viterelli), who insists on casting his non-professional, Cotton Club bimbo-chorus girl moll, Olive Neal (Jennifer Tilly), in the starring role as the psychiatrist. David believes the play will fold if high-pitched, squeaky-voiced, non-actress Olive can't cut it.
The reluctant, but romantic David & his contemptuous agent, Julian Marx (Jack Warden), secure the acting power of flamboyant, egotistical fading star, Helen Sinclair (Dianne Wiest), for the lead role, as well as a nervous thespian from England/compulsive over-eater, Warner Purcell (Jim Broadbent), for the male lead, & odd-humored, dog-toting, neurotic actress, Eden Brent (Tracey Ullman, hysterical), who is cast as 'the other woman'. To boot, they ALL want significant changes in the play's script, themselves. And besides contending with all of them, David also Olive's gruff, wiseguy mob chaperone, Cheech (Chazz Palminteri), to deal with. And Cheech unexpectedly has his OWN ideas of how David's play should unfold. Comedy chaos ensues.
Woody Allen, along with Douglas McGrath, has created a witty, delightful script. Sometimes it's sharp, sometimes it is relaxed. Sometimes it is cultured, other times it is enjoyably silly. But it is always well-observed about humanity. And yet, my favorite aspect of the film is how it looks & sounds. Allen employs his typical elegant style, with dark-toned colors & rich compositions {Carlo DiPalma is the great cinematographer, here}. The 1920s Broadway theatre district-look is perfect; thanks to some exquisite period production designs & some marvelous period costumes. Manhattan's Roaring Twenties are captured brilliantly. And that includes a smashing 1920s jazz soundtrack, with tunes like "Toot Toot Tootsie Goodbye" peppering our eardrums.
A large & vast cast is on hand to spit-out Woody's lines of dialogue with perfect timing, grace & acuity. John Cusack - not one of my favorite actors - is solid, here. He plays his role of David straight; which is called for, as the other flashy performances are meant to make a splash around him. Dianne Wiest - who won an Academy Award for Woody Allen's wonderful Hannah & her Sisters in 1986 - is an absolute firecracker as the bedraggled old theatre hambone with her thunderous voice, overblown cliches & absurd pomposities {"Don't speak!!", she senselessly cries}. Jennifer Tilly chews the screen as Olive, the ditzy, helium-voiced moll with big dreams, but no talent, brain or heart. Chazz Palminteri is fantastic as the hitman with surprising eloquence. And the likes of Harvey Fierstein, Rob Reiner & Mary-Louise Parker {as the long-suffering girlfriend} add spice to their minor roles.
'Bullets over Broadway' was nominated for 7(!) Academy Awards, including Directing, Writing, Acting, Art Direction, Costumes, & it won one for Dianne Wiest's hilarious, melodramatic Helen Sinclair. Odd that it received so many accolades without garnering a Best Picture nod. My hunch: it is a film that is greater in its particulars than it is for its whole. I say this, because that is how I felt about it, as well. It is clearly a solid movie, but something about the contrivances of the story & its execution of it left me a touch underwhelmed. That said, 'Bullets over Broadway' is surely a clever, amusing & preposterous parody of the many hypocrisies of the Broadway theater scene and the way art & commerce intermingled. I dig it; just didn't love it.
The reluctant, but romantic David & his contemptuous agent, Julian Marx (Jack Warden), secure the acting power of flamboyant, egotistical fading star, Helen Sinclair (Dianne Wiest), for the lead role, as well as a nervous thespian from England/compulsive over-eater, Warner Purcell (Jim Broadbent), for the male lead, & odd-humored, dog-toting, neurotic actress, Eden Brent (Tracey Ullman, hysterical), who is cast as 'the other woman'. To boot, they ALL want significant changes in the play's script, themselves. And besides contending with all of them, David also Olive's gruff, wiseguy mob chaperone, Cheech (Chazz Palminteri), to deal with. And Cheech unexpectedly has his OWN ideas of how David's play should unfold. Comedy chaos ensues.
Woody Allen, along with Douglas McGrath, has created a witty, delightful script. Sometimes it's sharp, sometimes it is relaxed. Sometimes it is cultured, other times it is enjoyably silly. But it is always well-observed about humanity. And yet, my favorite aspect of the film is how it looks & sounds. Allen employs his typical elegant style, with dark-toned colors & rich compositions {Carlo DiPalma is the great cinematographer, here}. The 1920s Broadway theatre district-look is perfect; thanks to some exquisite period production designs & some marvelous period costumes. Manhattan's Roaring Twenties are captured brilliantly. And that includes a smashing 1920s jazz soundtrack, with tunes like "Toot Toot Tootsie Goodbye" peppering our eardrums.
A large & vast cast is on hand to spit-out Woody's lines of dialogue with perfect timing, grace & acuity. John Cusack - not one of my favorite actors - is solid, here. He plays his role of David straight; which is called for, as the other flashy performances are meant to make a splash around him. Dianne Wiest - who won an Academy Award for Woody Allen's wonderful Hannah & her Sisters in 1986 - is an absolute firecracker as the bedraggled old theatre hambone with her thunderous voice, overblown cliches & absurd pomposities {"Don't speak!!", she senselessly cries}. Jennifer Tilly chews the screen as Olive, the ditzy, helium-voiced moll with big dreams, but no talent, brain or heart. Chazz Palminteri is fantastic as the hitman with surprising eloquence. And the likes of Harvey Fierstein, Rob Reiner & Mary-Louise Parker {as the long-suffering girlfriend} add spice to their minor roles.
'Bullets over Broadway' was nominated for 7(!) Academy Awards, including Directing, Writing, Acting, Art Direction, Costumes, & it won one for Dianne Wiest's hilarious, melodramatic Helen Sinclair. Odd that it received so many accolades without garnering a Best Picture nod. My hunch: it is a film that is greater in its particulars than it is for its whole. I say this, because that is how I felt about it, as well. It is clearly a solid movie, but something about the contrivances of the story & its execution of it left me a touch underwhelmed. That said, 'Bullets over Broadway' is surely a clever, amusing & preposterous parody of the many hypocrisies of the Broadway theater scene and the way art & commerce intermingled. I dig it; just didn't love it.