Bullets Over Broadway

Starring: John Cusack, Chazz Palminteri, Diane Weist, Mary-Louise Parker, Jennifer Tilly, Jim Broadbent, Harvey Fierstein, Rob Reiner
Directed by: Woody Allen
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy, Crime
1994

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A young playwright (John Cusack) has his play financed by a gangster. The problem is that he insists his girlfriend (Jennifer Tilly) have a part, even though she is a terrible actress. One of the gangster's lackies (Chazz Palminteri) is assigned to watch over the play, but takes an increasing interest in the project.

Review:

Tim: Woody Allen is just not a good filmmaker. Even this film, which was generally well liked, is by no means anything special. The story is pretty decent and will keep you mildly interested, but not too entertained.

The one bright spot in the film is the incredible exchanges between John Cusack and Chazz Palminteri. There two actors seem to be direct opposites, but they are incredible together. The highlight is the bar scene where they have a conversation. This is pure brilliance, and both actors deserve huge accolades. I will also give Allen credit for orchestrating this truly excellent scene. Both actors are great not just in this context, but throughout the entire film. Diane Weist also gives a very strong performance and her "Don't speak" running gag proves funnier than you'd expect.

The film really isn't too entertaining. While it is decently fun to watch Cusack dealing with all the issues surrounding his play, this gets annoying very fast. The cast of characters are interesting to an extent, but all are quite flawed, and at their core, not extremely interested. I recall some criticism concerning Palminteri's sudden rise (watch the movie to understand), but I felt like this was the story's biggest strength. This at least was interesting to watch. I didn't really care about the other characters, but Cusack and Palminteri seemed to matter. Everything involving these two characters seemed worth my time (as opposed to another's weight gain or one character's cheating ways). While most of the movie is weak, there are some truly excellent scenes that make putting up with the rest of the movie worth it.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Shadows and Fog, Match Point, Hannah and Her Sisters