Review of Bullets Over Broadway (1994) by Jennifer A — 15 Apr 2006

In this entry I examine two Woody Allen pictures and one James Ivory film.

[b]Bullets Over Broadway[/b], directed by Woody Allen, is a delightful comedy that combines show business and gangsters. Set in the roaring twenties, the film stars John Cusack as David Shayne, an aspiring playwright with an uncomprimising view of his work. He wants to direct his work so it doesn't get skewed, but because he is an unknown he doesn't have the clout. With the help of his producer (Jack Warden) Shayne finds a backer for his project, a local mobster Nick Valentini (Joe Viterelli). However there is a catch, Shayne must cast the mobster's ditzy and talentless girlfriend Olive (Jennifer Tilly) in the play. Shayne also manages to cast fading diva Helen Sinclair (Dianne Weist) and food obssessed leading man Warner Purcell (Jim Broadbent). Things are further complicated by Olive's thuggish bodyguard Cheech (Chaz Palminteri) who manages to muscle more changes in the script. The cast also includes Rob Reiner, Mary-Louise Parker, Harvey Fierstein and Tracy Ullman.

[i]Bullets Over Broadway [/i]is probably my favorite 90's Woody Allen film, and one of his best overall. The story is very clever, one of Allen's better scripts, and it's full of memorable and quotable lines. Cusack is very good as the "straight man" Shayne, but it's the supporting cast that steals the show. Dianne Wiest, who won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role, is wonderful as the aging egotistical diva. She gets some of the most memorable lines and it's hilarious watching her charm and manipulate Shayne. Jennifer Tilly is also fabulous as a ditzy bombshell who can't act. The other scene stealer is Chaz Palminteri, the mobster bodyguard who becomes obsessed with the play. The film is a rousing good time, probably one that even non-Woody Allen fans would enjoy.

[b]Sweet and Lowdown[/b], another Woody Allen film, is a mock-biography of a 1930's jazz guitarist named Emmet Ray. Sean Penn stars as Ray, a flashy and talented musician with a questionable outlook on life who's hobbies include chasing women, stealing, and shooting rats at a local landfill. Ray meets a shy, mute woman named Hattie (Samantha Morton) who falls for him, but Ray can't stay faithful. Eventually Ray dumps Hattie for the sexier Blanche (Uma Thurman), but Ray realizes he misses Hattie. The cast also includes Anthony LaPaglia, Brian Markinson, and John Waters.

The film features great music and period detail. Although the story is a bit flawed, the performances of Sean Penn and Samantha Morton are excellent, making this a highly watchable Woody Allen film. Not Allen's best work, but still pretty good.

[b]Howards End[/b], directed by James Ivory, is an adaption of the 1910 E.M. Forster novel. The story centers on Margaret Schlegel (Emma Thompson) who befriend a wealthy woman named Ruth Wilcox (Vanessa Redgrave). When Ruth dies, she leaves Margaret her home "Howards End" much to the chagrin of her children. Meanwhile Margaret's sister Helen (Helena Bonham-Carter) befriends and champions a poor working class man named Leonard Bast (Sam West). Eventually Margaret falls for aristocrat Henry Wilcox (Anthony Hopkins) whom she eventually marries.

This period film is part love story and partially a social commentary on the caste system, the wealthy Wilcox family, the middle class Schlegels and the poor Bast couple. Despite it's enormous critical acclaim I found it mostly pretentious and tedious. For most of the film it seemed like a celebration of status, only towards the end did it effectively examine the real conflicts of a caste system. Although the acting is top-notch (Emma Thompson won a Best Actress Oscar for her role) I could never fully latch onto the story due to it's rather cold and pretentious beginnings therefor the ending was much less rewarding for me. James Ivory is an acquired taste, and I did enjoy one of his other films, just not this one.