On B List of Movie Reviews
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Bugsy Malone (1976)
Rate:
6
Viewed:
4/24
4/24:
When I saw who the director was for Bugsy Malone, I knew what to expect.
The trouble with Alan Parker is that he tends to go in circles by repeating the same formula every ten minutes
because there's barely any story. Hence, two gangs are at war with each other for the possession of "splurge
guns." To fill in the time, it's about the look and fashion through quick editing with snappy dialogue.
I admit that it makes fun of every gangster picture that came out during the 30's and 40's. Along with the cars
which can only move by pedals, I'm impressed with the concept of kids acting like adults, but it can sometimes
feel creepy because of the makeup à la JonBenet Ramsey. Yet I don't understand them being hit with whipped
cream (or pies?); does it mean they're "dead" or rather taken out of the game? I'm only asking this because of
the huge food fight at the end, rendering everything that happened to Fat Sam's gang moot.
As for the cast, only two stand out: John Cassisi and Florrie Dugger as Fat Sam and Blousey Brown, respectively,
while Jodie Foster is truly awful as in "she can't act." The rest is fine. Virtually everybody was under 17 years
old at the time of filming. Don't be fooled by their singing; almost the whole thing was dubbed by Paul Williams
which is the reason why he nabbed the film's sole Oscar nomination (Best Original Song Score). By the way, John
Cassisi did live up to his image by pleading guilty to money laundering and bribery in 2015 and served time in
prison for about 1.5 years.
All in all, although ingenious, Bugsy Malone isn't a well-directed picture.