Overview
Set in 1920s New York City, this movie tells the story of idealistic young playwright David Shayne. Producer Julian Marx finally finds funding for the project from gangster Nick Valenti. The catch is that Nick's girl friend Olive Neal gets the part of a psychiatrist, and Olive is a bimbo who could never pass for a psychiatrist as well as being a dreadful actress. Agreeing to this first compromise is the first step to Broadway's complete seduction of David, who neglects longtime girl friend Ellen. Meanwhile David puts up with Warner Purcell, the leading man who is a compulsive eater, Helen Sinclair, the grand dame who wants her part jazzed up, and Cheech, Olive's interfering hitman / bodyguard. Eventually, the playwright must decide whether art or life is more important.
This was my latest venture into the world of Woody Allen and the first straight-ahead comedy. It was easy to see that this was a movie that was written by Allen because it had many of his trademark trappings, including the neurotic main character. I haven’t done much research on this topic but this appears to be about the time where Allen decided to bow out as the star of his films and focus on writing and directing. The results in this movie were mixed as John Cusack was bestowed the honor of playing the lead.
Regular readers to this site probably have noticed that there is regular discussion about John Cusack’s role in High Fidelity. About 3 minutes into this movie I had a revelation: John Cusack can’t act. He’s John Cusack in everything. Some actors (Harrison Ford and Morgan Freeman, to name a couple) can get away with this but Cusack in many ways can not. Think about it… there is serious John Cusack, neurotic John Cusack, solemn John Cusack… the movies may change but he brings his 4 or 5 different voices and faces to each one.
Anyway, I kind of thought that maybe Allen selected Cusack for this very reason. It is evident from the beginning of the movie that this film is about the supporting cast and not the “lead”. Diane Wiest is absolutely brilliant in her role as the aging Broadway Diva. One of my first thoughts that I had about her performance is that this is what Kristine Baranski is supposed to be in some of the similar roles that she has played.
The other perfomance that really carried this film was that of Chazz Palminteri. The funny thing is that he’s been so good in so many movies but he’s never really had a breakout role. I have to admit, his role started out very small and where Allen took him was really funny.
IHATEBadMovies.com reviews Bullets Over Broadway
Movie title: Bullets Over Broadway
Movie description: Set in 1920s New York City, this movie tells the story of idealistic young playwright David Shayne. Producer Julian Marx finally finds funding for the project from gangster Nick Valenti. The catch is that Nick's girl friend Olive Neal gets the part of a psychiatrist, and Olive is a bimbo who could never pass for a psychiatrist as well as being a dreadful actress. Agreeing to this first compromise is the first step to Broadway's complete seduction of David, who neglects longtime girl friend Ellen. Meanwhile David puts up with Warner Purcell, the leading man who is a compulsive eater, Helen Sinclair, the grand dame who wants her part jazzed up, and Cheech, Olive's interfering hitman / bodyguard. Eventually, the playwright must decide whether art or life is more important.
Date published: 2008-05-04
Director(s): Woody Allen
Actor(s): John Cusack, Dianne Wiest, Jennifer Tilly, Chazz Palminteri, Mary-Louise Parker, Jack Warden, Rob Reiner, Tracey Ullman, Joe Viterelli, Jim Broadbent, Harvey Fierstein, Edie Falco, Debi Mazar, Stacey Nelkin, Malgorzata Zajaczkowska, Charles Cragin, Nina von Arx, Brian McConnachie, Tony Sirico, Victor Colicchio, Louis Eppolito, Gene Canfield, Peter Castellotti, John Ventimiglia, John Di Benedetto, Lisa Arturo, Meghan Strange, Carol Lee Meadows, Leigh Torlage, Debra Wiseman, Paul Herman, Shannah Laumeister Stern, Tony Darrow
Genre: Action, Comedy, Thriller
My Review
This was my latest venture into the world of Woody Allen and the first straight-ahead comedy. It was easy to see that this was a movie that was written by Allen because it had many of his trademark trappings, including the neurotic main character. I haven’t done much research on this topic but this appears to be about the time where Allen decided to bow out as the star of his films and focus on writing and directing. The results in this movie were mixed as John Cusack was bestowed the honor of playing the lead.
Regular readers to this site probably have noticed that there is regular discussion about John Cusack’s role in High Fidelity. About 3 minutes into this movie I had a revelation: John Cusack can’t act. He’s John Cusack in everything. Some actors (Harrison Ford and Morgan Freeman, to name a couple) can get away with this but Cusack in many ways can not. Think about it… there is serious John Cusack, neurotic John Cusack, solemn John Cusack… the movies may change but he brings his 4 or 5 different voices and faces to each one.
Anyway, I kind of thought that maybe Allen selected Cusack for this very reason. It is evident from the beginning of the movie that this film is about the supporting cast and not the “lead”. Diane Wiest is absolutely brilliant in her role as the aging Broadway Diva. One of my first thoughts that I had about her performance is that this is what Kristine Baranski is supposed to be in some of the similar roles that she has played.
The other perfomance that really carried this film was that of Chazz Palminteri. The funny thing is that he’s been so good in so many movies but he’s never really had a breakout role. I have to admit, his role started out very small and where Allen took him was really funny.
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My Review - 7/10
7/10