rating:
(out of
4 stars)United States; 1994
Directed by Woody Allen; produced by Robert Greenhut; written by Woody Allen, Douglas McGrath
Starring John Cusack, Dianne Wiest, Jennifer Tilly, Chazz Palminteri, Mary-Louise Parker, Jack Warden, Rob Reiner, Tracey Ullman, Jim Broadbent
Below you will find a temporary review for this film. The real (better, more complete) review will be online very soon.
This Woody Allen-movie has some very nice touches in a pretty ordinary
story. That it is well made and very well acted helps the movie to seem
better than it really is. Not that it is not a good movie, but as a comedy
it hasn't got a lot of real big laughs. There are a lot of smiles, most of
the time because we see or hear an actor doing something completely logical
but perfectly in character.
John Cusack is one of those characters. He is a playwright named David who
just finished his third play. He wants to direct it himself because the
failure of his other two plays were the director's fault. The producer,
played by Jack Warden, finds finance from a gangster although there is one
little thing. David has to cast the gangster's girlfriend in a role good
enough for her. The girlfriend Olive (Jennifer Tilly, nominated for an
Oscar) belongs to the worst actresses ever, but without her in the play
there is no money to create the play at all.
Dianne Wiest, Tracey Ullman and Jim Broadbent are actors cast in the leading
roles. Writer David starts an affair with the Wiest-character (Wiest won an
Oscar for Best Actress in a Supporting Role), Olive starts messing with the
Broadbent-character. Chazz Palminteri (also nominated for an Oscar) plays
Cheech who must keep an eye on Olive. Cheech is present at every rehearsal
and one day he gives his comments on the play. A writing talent is revealed.
Basically this is just the set-up for ‘Bullets Over Broadway'. From here on
the movie does only the most logical things although sometimes they still
seem surprising. When Cheech changes the dialogue in the play because he
knows how people talk it sounds logical, but before the movie started it was
not something we would have guessed. There are more moments like this.
There are also moments that seem to reflect on Allen's own life. There is a
conversation between David and a good friend who is also an artist (Rob
Reiner) where the dialogue explains what artists should do in certain
situations. The conclusion of that conversation is exactly what Allen has
done in his own life. That also, is something I liked about this movie.
If you normally like Woody Allen movies you will definitely like this one.
The dialogue and humor will seem very familiar if you know Allen's work. If
you are not very familiar with Allen's work I would not start with this one,
although it is definitely a nice movie. A more accessible movie like
‘Manhattan Murder Mystery' would be a good start. If you normally don't like
Allen I don't think you will like this one. Like I said, it is a typical
Allen movie although the story could be interesting for any movie or theater
lover. Also, the performances of John Cusack, Jennifer Tilly and especially
Chazz Palminteri alone are enough to appreciate certain parts. Even if you
do not like Allen you must admit that he always gets the best out of his
performers. ‘Bullets Over Broadway' is no exception there.