We watched the weirdest movie the other night: Bugsy Malone. The Snook deliberately TiFauxed it last week because he’d seen it as a kid. I was like, “Wait, what? It’s a gangster movie but they’re all played by little kids?” That’s not even the weird part. The bad guys shoot tommy guns loaded with whipped cream. The kids all dance and break into song but the songs are dubbed over with grownups’ voices. (And a lot of the voices sound like Bob Dylan.) A pre-pubescent Jodie Foster plays a gangster’s moll named Tallulah. And the weirdest bit of all? Scott Baio plays Bugsy. That’s right, CHACHI IS THE STAR. You can imagine how I rushed to Ebert’s site afterwards to see his no-doubt savage take on this cinematic stinker. But no, Uncle Rog gave it a full 3.5 stars. That means he thought it was as good as Annie Hall. The mind boggles.
Lindsey
March 20, 2005 — 6:36 am
I LOVE THAT MOVIE!!!!
…….. am I alone in my thinking?
hank
March 20, 2005 — 10:54 am
I have to admit, you are not alone! That movie rocks just for sheer weirdness alone – and of course the fact that Scott Baio stars in it (his second best role after Zapped!).
Another interestingly useless bit of trivia, Bugsy Malone was directed by Alan Parker, who two years later went on to direct Midnight Express. Anyone who’s seen that would agree, the two films are *worlds apart*.
Kath
March 22, 2005 — 10:28 am
hmmm. I will have to see this lil gem to believe it!
Matt
March 23, 2005 — 6:45 am
I saw it a long time ago, and yeah I remember being a little creeped. Jodie Foster plays this hotsy-totsy woman, and yet she’s only like twelve years old.
One of Jodie’s lines was a gem — “I think I’ll go manicure my gloves.”
Kris
March 23, 2005 — 10:29 am
She was actually the best thing about that movie, in a skeevy kinda way. She was the only kid capable of playing a believable adult. The rest all look like they could giggle at any moment. I loved it when the black kid put on a blonde wig and started imitating her. “My name is Tallulah…”