Review of Bullets Over Broadway (1994) by Louis P — 23 Dec 2010

This is a damn good Woody Allen comedy, and Allen himself is not in it at all. It got three acting Oscar nominations and won one, and it's easy to see why. This has one of his better plots, as an idealistic young playwright (a nervous and Woody-Allen-ish John Cusack) tries to put on his new play with the financing of a gangster (Joe Viterelli, playing a stereotypical mobster as always) in 1920s Broadway.

The real charm of the film lies in its supporting parts: an older actress who was once a star and still has delusions of grandeur (an Oscar-winning Dianne Wiest), a moll who has a big part because of her gangster boyfriend (an Osca-nominated Jennifer Tilly), and a bodyguard/hitman who can write dialogue better than the playwright can (an Oscar-nominated Chazz Palminteri).

Along with Jim Broadbent and a few others, this is one of the best comic casts Allen ever assembled. The dialogue is sharp and funny, and much of what's going on seems to be Allen's self-critique of pretentious, ineffectual stuff like Interiors.

The direction is excellent, with quite a few very long, unbroken takes as actors scatter hither and yon. The Oscar-nominated costumes and sets are also quite excellent. Overall, this is simply one of Allen's best, most accessible and most entertaining movies.