PLOT:
Unusual spoof of old gangster movies in which a cast made up entirely of children sings and dances its way around Prohibition-era sets, substituting toy guns and whipped cream for machine guns and bullets.
REVIEW:
What did I like?
Kids say the darndest things. Some of the dialogue leads me to believe this was supposed to have been a normal gangster flick at one point, but then the director or someone had the idea to feature child actors. Because of this, some of the lines don’t quite work with a 12 yr kid playing a mob boss uttering them, as opposed to 50 yr old man. Sure, you can go for the “aww, its cute” angle, but that doesn’t work as well as you think. Should the script have been punched up a little better? Perhaps, if for no other reason than to make this age appropriate. Then again, watering down these lines might take away what makes the film special.
Splurge. I’m a huge fan of tommy guns. For me, it isn’t a gangster flick without them. I think this goes back to the shootout at the end of Dick Tracy, but I can’t be for certain. With this young cast, you can’t use real guns. Well, I guess they could have used cap guns, but that wouldn’t have translated on screen, most likely. The decision to use guns loaded with cream pies turned out to be a genius move. Not only does it fit the younger tone of this flick, but it serves as a suitable replacement for bullets.
Gangster feel. As an obvious spoof of gangster films, there is a genuine feel of a gangster flick to be had while watching. If you ignore the fact that these are kids, take out the songs, and turn the pies into bullets, this would be a legit gangster film rivaling The Godfather. Ok, let’s not go that far, but this is surprisingly well written film. You can argue that the characters could be fleshed out a bit more, aside from Bugsy and Blousey, but it works for what the film is trying to do. Remember this isn’t some deep drama.
What didn’t I like?
A matter of life and death. For almost the whole film, when someone is shot with a splurge gun or hit with a pie, it is implied that they are killed yet in the last scene there is “mass shooting” in Fat Sam’s Speakeasy. Nearly everyone is hit with multiple pies, and yet no one “dies”. This leaves the audience wondering what are the stakes? Why do they get to live and everyone else dies? Obviously, you can’t end a film like this on a downer, which is the reason for the change in “rules”, but it still throws the viewer off. Also, who threw that flour?!?
Stage to screen. There is a stage version of this film but I don’t know which came first. To that point, many of the cast members seem as if they were trained (or training) for the stage, rather than performing on the big screen. What does that mean? Well, stage actors tend to be a bit more stiff and dare I say, wooden. Screen actors are a bit more fluid. Scott Baio and Jodie Foster, both of which attained success on screen, show this the best. Hmm…maybe that is why they went on to have careers while the rest of this cast, save for a couple never did anything or at least anything of note after this.
Songs. The music in the film is actually pretty good, but I have a couple of issues. First, this a gangster flick set in the Depression era, yet most of the songs sound a bit more modern. I’m not saying this needed to be a full on big band score, but some of the more contemporary songs could have been given a different twist. Second, when the singing kicks in, adult voices are used. One of the selling points of this flick is the young cast, yet they have adults singing for them? Doesn’t that defeat the purpose? This is best shown when the character of Blousey belts out a hauntingly beautiful ballad in her audition. The girl is maybe 75 lbs dripping wet and has a bit of a harpy speaking voice, so there is no way that singing voice could come out of her!
Final verdict:
What did I ultimately think of Bugsy Malone? I think back to the first time I saw this. Back in the dark ages of the early 90s when A & E showed classic movies. I was shocked to see a child cast, but impressed with that they were able to do. Nearly 30 yrs later and this is still a film that I enjoy to the fullest. With an enjoyable book of songs, some fun antics, and a passable love story, this is a good time for all. I highly recommend it.
4 out of 5 stars
Mystery Man's Musings 