Bullets Over Broadway (1994) User Reviews

Mobsters and thespians

[jotix100 · 8/10 · 25 April 2005]

Woody Allen had the inspired idea to let another actor played what would have been a tailor-made he wrote for himself. As a director, Mr. Allen has always done well. Of course, there are exceptions, but in "Bullets over Broadway" show an inspired Mr. Allen doing what he does best. This comedy, written in collaboration with Douglas McGrath, is a happy take on a situation that only this director would have been able to create.

We are shown two different worlds. In one, the roaring twenties gangsters have the control of all illegal activities in Manhattan. On the other, we meet an idealistic writer, David Shayne, who wants to have his play produced. Enter the capo Nick Valenti. This man has enough money to buy his current paramour, the dizzy Olive Neal, whatever her little heart desires. Thus, the vehicle chosen is the drama David has written.

Thus begins a frantic comedy of errors where the theater and the mob intermingle with funny results. We watch as the play gets produced on Broadway how the different factions come together, each one with a different idea as to what to do with the play.

The cast is first rate. John Cusack, as the ambitious playwright, does some of his best work in showing what this man is going through. Dianne Wiest, one of the most accomplished actresses around, makes a splash with her take on Helen Sinclair, the first lady of the American theatah! Jennifer Tully is excellent as Olive Neal, the girl from the provinces with high aspirations, but no talent.

Chaz Palmintieri, as Cheech, the mobster that understands what's wrong with the play is hilarious. The late Joe Venturelli was born to play his mobster Nick Valente. Jack Warden is perfect as the producer. Tracey Ullman and Jim Broadbent are simply marvelous as the cast members of the play in production. Mary Louise Parker and Harvey Fierstein, Rob Reiner are also seen in smaller roles.

"Bullets over Broadway", as most of Mr. Allen's films has a great musical score of the jazz songs of the era. Mr. Allen, in taking a seat behind the camera, delivers one of his best and funniest films to date.

Rollicking, rib-tickling 'Roaring 20s' comedy gem -- a diamond among the Woodman's recent rough.

[gbrumburgh-1 · 8/10 · 21 November 2002]

Sadly, I've been let down by most of Woody Allen's recent comedies. So it was most rewarding indeed to see the Woodman back again true to form (after a lengthy drought) with 1994's Bullets Over Broadway." Fun, foamy, and clever, it has everything we've come to love and expect from the man.

While "Take the Money and Run" and "Bananas" first turned trendy audiences on to his unique brand of improvisational, hit-and-miss comedy episodes, and the more neurotic, self-examining cult hits like "Annie Hall" and "Manhattan" cemented his Oscar-winning relationship with Hollywood, the comedy genius has stumbled mightily in this last decade. Attempting to contemporize his image with the coarse, foul-mouthed antics of a Coen or Farrelly brother (see "Mighty Aphrodite") is simply beneath him, and has been about as productive as Stevie Wonder taking a turn at hip-hop. Moreover, casting himself as a 65-year-old romantic protagonist with love interests young enough to be his grandchildren (see "Curse of the Jade Scorpion") has left a noticeably bad aftertaste of late. With "Bullets Over Broadway," however, Allen goes back to basics and wisely avoids the pitfalls of excessive toilet humor and self-aggrandizing casting, and gives us a light, refreshing bit of whimsical escapism. Woody may not be found on screen here, but his presence is felt throughout. Though less topical and analytical than his trademark films, this vehicle brings back a purer essence of Woody and might I say an early innocence hard-pressed to find these days in his work.

John Cusack (can this guy do no wrong?) plays a struggling jazz-era playwright desperate for a Broadway hit who is forced to sell out to a swarthy, aging king-pin (played to perfection by Joe Viterelli) who is looking to finance a theatrical showcase for his much-younger bimbo girlfirend (Jennifer Tilly, in a tailor-made role). The writer goes through a hellish rehearsal period sacrificing his words, not to mention his moral and artistic scruples, in order to appease his mob producers who know zilch about putting on a play. The rehearsal scenes alone are worth the price of admission.

Aside from Allen's clever writing, brisk pace and lush, careful attention to period detail, he has assembled his richest ensemble cast yet with a host of hysterically funny characters in spontaneous banter roaming in and about the proceedings. Cusack is his usual rock-solid self in the panicky, schelmiel role normally reserved for Woody. But even he is dwarfed by the likes of this once-in-a-lifetime supporting cast. Jennifer Tilly, with her doll-like rasp, is hilariously grating as the vapid, virulent, and thoroughly untalented moll. Usually counted on to play broad, one-dimensional, sexually belligerent dames, never has Tilly been give such golden material to feast on, putting her Olive Neal right up there in the 'top 5' fun-filled film floozies of all time, alongside Jean Hagen's Lina Lamont and Lesley Ann Warren's Norma Cassady. Virile, menacing Chazz Palminteri as the fleshy-lipped Cheech, a "dees, dem and dos" guard dog, reveals great comic prowess while affording his pin-striped hit man some touching overtones. Dianne Wiest, who has won bookend support Oscars in Woody Allen pictures (for this and for "Hannah and Her Sisters") doesn't miss a trick as the outre theatre doyenne Helen Sinclair, whose life is as grand and exaggerated off-stage as it is on. Her comic brilliance is on full, flamboyant display, stealing every scene she's in. Tracey Ullman is a pinch-faced delight as the exceedingly anal, puppy-doting ingenue, while Jim Broadbent as a fusty stick-in-the-mud gets his shining moments when his actor's appetite for both food and women get hilariously out of hand. Mary-Louise Parker, as Cusack's cast-off mate, gets the shortest end of the laughing stick, but lends some heart and urgency to the proceedings.

While the play flirts with a burlesque-styled capriciousness, there is an undercoating of seriousness and additional character agendas that keeps the cast from falling into one-note caricatures. And, as always, Woody's spot-on selection of period music is nonpareil. With healthy does of flapper-era Gershwin, Rodgers & Hart, Cole Porter, Hoagy Carmichael, not to mention the flavorful vocal stylings of Al Jolson and Eddie Cantor, Allen, with customary finesse, affectionately transports us back to the glitzy, gin-peddling era of Prohibition and slick Runyonesque antics.

I remember the times when the opening of a new Woody Allen film was a main event. As such, "Bullets Over Broadway" is a comedy valentine to such days. In any respect, it's a winner all the way, especially for Woodyphiles.

Highly recommended

[AKS-6 · 8/10 · 7 August 1999]

Of all the Woody Allen films that I have seen (not that many, I confess) this movie and "Everyone says 'I Love You'" are the ones that I have enjoyed the most. "Bullets Over Broadway" is a very funny, clever, and entertaining comedy. The acting is top-notch; Dianne Wiest is fantastic, Jennifer Tilly and Chazz Palminteri are great and John Cusack is as good as ever, that is: he is extremely good.

So, I enjoyed this film immensely, I laughed a lot, and I thoroughly recommend it.

Witty and sparkly

[bob the moo · 2 August 2002]

In 1920's New York a young author, David, manages to get his play off the ground with funding from mobster Valenti. The money allows David to get actors of the caliber of Helen Sinclair and Warner Purcell, however there's a catch. Valenti wants his screechy girl friend Olive to play a key part. This problem is compounded by Olive's minder Cheech who has plenty of constructive criticism on how the play could be better. David tries to balance all these in the name of art.

It's rarely new ground that Woody Allen walks – but how come he manages to make it so damn sparkly and witty? Here he delivers wonderful spoof on theatre people and the assumptions we all make about characters based on what they do or how they talk. The writing is spot on, Allen delivers tonnes of great lines but also creates characters that he expands over the film. It is very watchable and it rarely suffers from the fate on some of Allen's recent comedies – feeling too light or whimsical for it's own good. Instead it is funny but has some points to make.

Of course it always helps if you have a great cast and this does. With people like Warden, Broadbent, Wiest, Tilly, Parker, Fierstein, Reiner, Falco and Palminteri it's hard not to have at least the majority of the cast giving good performances – Wiest, Tilly and Palminteri were my favourites. Cusack was good as the overpowered writer but the one thing I didn't like is the same with many actors who do the traditional Woody role – he gives a slight impression at times rather than cutting out the role as his own.

Overall Woody Allen may not be everyone's cup of tea – but for fans this is him at his whimsical best. Not a classic comedy but a warm Allen film that sparkles in nearly every scene.

"You better get in the mood, honey, 'cause he's payin' the rent."

[Galina_movie_fan · 9/10 · 20 September 2005]

Set in 1920's New York City, "Bullets over Broadway" (1994) tells the story of a young playwright David Shayne who tries to produce his first play. He "stands on the brink of greatness. The world will open to him like an oyster. No... not like an oyster. The world will open to him like a magnificent vagina" but he needs to find money for production first.

The money comes from the gangster Nick Valenti on one condition - Nick's stunningly untalented bimbo girlfriend Olive ("She ruins everything she's in. She ruins things she's not even in") has to play a psychiatrist. Olive is accompanied to each rehearsal by hit-man/bodyguard Cheech who knows how the real people talk and turned to be a greater writer than David. David's leading man, Warner Purcell eats compulsively every time he gets nervous (and there are plenty of reasons for him to get nervous). David's relationship with the girlfriend Ellen suffers when he begins an affair with the talented leading lady Helen Sinclair ("I'm still a star. I never play frumps or virgins.") who is "in the last couple of years... better known as an adulteress and a drunk."

"Bullets over Broadway" is one of my favorite comedies by one of the favorite directors/writers, Woody Allen (I love you Woody, always have, always will - please make your gems, and I will be there to watch them). It has everything I look for in a comedy - brilliance, wit, clever writing, hilarious and sinister twist in the plot, amazing performances, authentic feel of the era and great musical score. "Bullets over Broadway" is pure delight from the beginning to the end. The best I could describe the film - to paraphrase the famous line from John F. Kennedy's Inaugural Address: "Ask not what Art can do for you — ask what you can do for Art".

9.5/10

Intelligence and humour

[valadas · 8/10 · 2 October 2004]

Woody Allen is a genius indeed. Once more in this movie he presents us with a mixture of intelligence and humour conveyed by his famous witty dialogues where the characters seem to play with serious things but are indeed giving us through humour an image of what people think and feel about life nowadays and about the relationships that spring among them. This story mix up with considerable success two ingredients that "a priori" seem not to combine very well: the world of theatre with the world of mafia and gangsterism in the crazy twenties of last century. All the characters are very typical and greatly performed: the young playwright looking for a place in the sun, the ham actress who overacts a lot even in real life, the mafia boss who imposes his girlfriend on the playwright as an actress, the Greenwich Village intellectuals and so on. In my opinion however the feeblest character is the one of the gangster who becomes also playwright from a certain moment on. Some of his interventions lack authenticity. But this is only a minor flaw in the whole. Like all the other Woody Allen's movies this one seems superficial at first sight but it's well made and deep enough to amuse us and simultaneously make us think and feel life in it.

pretty good Woody

[SnoopyStyle · 7/10 · 7 January 2016]

In the late 20's NYC, idealistic playwright David Shayne (John Cusack) is trying to get his play on Broadway. He gets finance from ruthless gangster Nick Valenti but he has to cast Nick's talentless loud-mouthed girlfriend Olive Neal (Jennifer Tilly). He is horrified that he's whoring himself out. Her surprisingly-insightful escort Cheech (Chazz Palminteri), not Mr. Cheech, starts making great suggestions. David falls for aging leading star Helen Sinclair (Dianne Wiest) and cheats on his girlfriend Ellen (Mary-Louise Parker). Olive has an affair with leading man Warner Purcell (Jim Broadbent).

It's an irreverent Woody Allen movie taking a sharp jab at the backstage world with a healthy dose of mob violence. There are some hilarious moments but I do want more. I keep thinking that the movie is on the verge of great madcap fun. This is a pretty good Woody movie just below some of his greats.

takes on the egotistical qualities in artists- and gangsters- in Allen's very funny send-up of Broadway

[Quinoa1984 · 8/10 · 15 March 2007]

Now this is something sort of rare, though not really: Woody Allen mixing satire and drama, and the satire actually even more convincing than the drama. The opposite was in a more serious affair, Crimes and Misdemeanors, where art and murder and infidelities all get into one big pot of personality crises. This is the same case with Bullets Over Broadway, though this time Allen's tackling of the ego-maniacal crutches of the Broadway scene- the aging star Helen Sinclair (Dianne Wiest, one of her very best performances, funniest too), the bumbling boob Olive Neal (Jennifer Tilly, appropriately annoying- and then how it sort of infects the outsiders to the major Broadway scene, one the protagonist David Shayne (John Cusack, excellent here), and Olive's bodyguard, Cheech (Chazz Palminteri, a character he could play in his sleep, but played pretty well anyway). Cheech is hanging around during rehearsals of David's first play he's writing and directing, following getting funding (on the condition of Olive as a psychiatrist) from a heavy-duty mobster, and soon he's suggesting ideas, and in the process becomes David's uncredited collaborator. But meanwhile infidelities are abound, with David falling for the wonderfully self-indulgent Helen, and a goofy romance between Olive and the thespian Warner Purcell (Jim Broadbent), leading to a purely ironic climax.

Allen's skills at navigating the neuroses of all the characters is very skilled, and sometimes the one-liners are surprisingly funny, all based on the personalities (Wiesst especially, in a voice that is a little startling at first, gives a classic line about the world 'opening' up, and her running gag with "don't speak"). Even with the more dramatic connections, which doesn't seem to be as much of Allen's concerns since it's pretty one-note with the mob side of things (and, frankly, the fates of Olive and Cheech sort of seem a little too contrived for the sake of the irony par for the course), we do get a very memorable bit to make things worth the while, like David and Cheech's down to earth talk at the bar. But if there's anything else to recommend more strongly it's for the sharpness of the script in the theater scenes, the backstage banter, the hilarious tension stirred up by grudges and ill-timed romances. Plus, there's a bit of an added treat for fans of past Allen films, where he casts Rob Reiner in a role sort of similar to that of Wallace Shawn in Manhattan. Not a masterpiece, but a very enjoyable work that's successful on its dark-light terms.

Surprisingly Enjoyable! 6/10

[leonblackwood · 6/10 · 18 October 2014]

Review: I quite enjoyed this movie, even though it does seem to drag in some parts. The actors made the movie interesting and Woody Allen wrote a witty script which was more dramatic than funny. The concept, which is based around a writer producing a play with the pressure from the mob to cast a bad actress, wasn't bad and I have to give credit to the cast, who all put in great performances. The actors who play the gangsters, seem to be in every gangster movie that comes out, but they made movie enjoyable, even though the movie wasn't totally based around them. I have learnt not to have high expectations for movies nowadays so when I see a well made movie, I end up enjoying it even more. This movie is well put together by Allen and he portrayed the period well, even though the storyline is a bit silly in parts. In all, it's a average movie with some good scenes and good performances, but it could have been a better movie if it didn't have the comedy element. Average!

Round-Up: This film definitely wouldn't have worked if Woody Allen was in it. He seemed to cut out the silly lines, which I have seen in many of his movies, which is why the film really did work. John Cusack was good as the lead, but it was Dianne Wiest that made me laugh. She was playing a role that was completely out of her comfort zone, but she played it well, especially when she kept on telling John Cusack to Shhhh! Tracy Ullman also played her role well alongside Jim Broadbent, and I enjoyed the whole gangster side to the film. Personally, I was expecting a typical Woody Allen movie about sex and troubled relationships, but this film wasn't that bad and I must admit, I did stay interested throughout. 

Budget: $20million Worldwide Gross: $13million

I recommend this movie to people who are into there Woody Allen movies about a play writer whose determined to get his play on Broadway with the help from the mob. 6/10

Superb

[mls4182 · 10/10 · 19 December 2021]

A wonderfully written and directed comedy with an excellent cast. A motley cast of characters who are all narcissistic, delusional and incompetent.

Every actor is perfect in their role but Diane Wiest and Meg Tilly are standouts. One of the last witty and truly funny comedies.

"For me, love is very deep. Sex only has to go a few inches". 20s Broadway blast in 90s Woody Allen style!

[SAMTHEBESTEST · 7/10 · 17 November 2023]

Bullets Over Broadway (1994) : Brief Review -

"For me, love is very deep. Sex only has to go a few inches". 20s Broadway blast in 90s Woody Allen style! "I can't get over David. Couldn't you see? Every time I climaxed, I'd scream, David David"! She says. The man replies, "Oh. I thought you said Do It, do it! That's my Woody Allen, who was missing in his previous films in the 90s, Husbands and Wives & Manhattan Murder Mystery. The 20s Broadway exposed in 90s Woody Allen's touch. The film may be about a writer and his complications, but it's the story of a whole freaking big unit where every character puts his bits into the narrative. It's a mess, but not a miss! That's Woody Allen's masterclass for you! There was a Lubitsch comedy called "To Be Or Not To Be," which had a similar theme to a play and the character attached to it. What even a master like Ernst Lubitsch couldn't do, the genius Allen did. It's not a comparison between two legends and their legacy, but just that one project that happens to be on similar lines. We have a writer who thinks that he has written a great play, only to meet a hoodlum who makes his writing better. He has a girlfriend, but he still gets involved with the leading actress in his play. The actress is sexually appealing but a bit of an outrageous character, yet they make a perfect bond. He believes that they speak the same language of art. Do you love me or the artist in me? That's his question, and he finally gets a morally powerful answer at the end. While he was confused during his affair with the actress, his girlfriend was having an affair and even a sexual encounter with someone else. That's how you level things. Allen keeps things balanced. You don't have to feel sorry for his GF because he wasn't a gentleman himself. Yet, he asks the gangster to be good. That's a big joke. Well, that's how this comedy is formed. An ugly-looking dame wants to be an actress, and she gets a side role with the help of the producer, who has kept her as his mistress. Well, she is having an affair too. You see, Allen has exposed literally every character and given them an unfiltered and absurdly funny touch of his own. Don't think; just enjoy.

RATING - 7/10*

By - #samthebestest.

Guys and Dolls

[evanston_dad · 9/10 · 17 March 2009]

Woody Allen sends up the world of Broadway and the gangsters who love it in this Runyonesque comedy, one of his very best.

John Cusack is the Allen surrogate, a nebbish playwright who's struggling to remain true to his artistic vision amongst countless obstacles. Those obstacles include: a gangster's girlfriend (Jennifer Tilly) who Cusack is forced to cast in a lead role; her bodyguard (Chazz Palmienteri), who reveals quite a few dramatic instincts; a high-maintenance diva (Dianne Wiest, uproarious); a leading man who eats too much (Jim Broadbent); and a dithery actress very much in love with her dog (Tracy Ullman).

Because Allen sets his movie in a world he knows well (NY theatre), this feels like one of his strongest and most realized screenplays. The whole thing is a riot. Between Wiest, Tilly and Ullman, I still can't decide who's funniest.

Grade: A

Interesting mix of gangster and theatre world genres

[Vartiainen · 6/10 · 22 January 2017]

A struggling playwright wants to direct his own play because he believes he's an artist, with a capital A, and is convinced that his previous plays didn't succeed because their directors have butchered his genius words. Unfortunately, the only way for him to get funded is to accept money from a mobster, who in turn demands that his empty-headed girlfriend gets a role in the play. The said girlfriend is of course shrill-voiced, opinionated, utterly talentless and kind of lazy. But then it turns out that the hapless gangster conscripted to guard the girlfriend has a way with words and play scenes. A talent even he didn't know he had.

It's an odd scenario for a movie, but director Woody Allen makes it work. I've always liked movies that are about making movies, or in this case theatre plays, because they're such fascinating windows into the business that gives us the stuff dreams are made of. This film being no exception. It's full of glamorous actors, empty stages, rehearsals, costumes, scripts and playwrights. But thrown into the mix are gangsters, which makes the film rather unique. It has a spin of its own.

It's also the best Woody Allen film I've seen so far. I have not seen many of them and certainly none of his classics, but so far his style has seemed a bit contrived. Like he's talking about something he doesn't quite understand, or understands incorrectly. But in this I totally buy that he's talking from his heart. He knows and breathes this world. All its upsides and downsides.

Definitely a film worth checking out for all those that find the premise interesting or are just interested in theatre as a way of life.

John Cusack playing Woody Allen .........

[merklekranz · 5/10 · 8 September 2013]

"Bullets Over Broadway" doesn't work for the same reason other Woody Allen comedies he's written but not starred in don't work. It's very simple, having someone else playing a character that has all the Woody insecurities and mannerisms leaves one wishing for Allen to be playing the part, and feeling cheated that he isn't in the film. Such is the case with John Cusack's playwright character. What you get is a Woody Allen clone that simply can't deliver the comedy intended by Allen. The cast is game, but fine comedians Jennifer Tilly, Jack Warden, and Rob Reiner, don't deliver enough chuckles to overcome the lack of Woody Allen playing the part he obviously was meant to play. - MERK

Dianne Wiest Is Perfection

[drednm · 24 April 2019]

Witty and waspish Broadway story directed by Woody Allen and co-written by Allen and Douglas McGrath is a fond look at a bygone era.

John Cusack plays a struggling playwright who agrees hire the no-talent Olive (Jennifer Tilly) in order to have a mobster back his new play. The mobster assigned a stooge (Chazz Palminteri) to watch over Olive and make sure she doesn't cheat on him.

Cusack and his agent (Jack Warden) talk fading Broadway star Helen Sinclair (Dianne Wiest) into starring in the play, but as the play struggles in rehearsals, the stooge (Palminteri) starts to make constructive criticisms that launch the play in a different direction. As the rehearsals catch fire, it become obvious that Olive must go ... and go she does.

While the main characters are all well played, it's Dianne Wiest who growls and guzzles her way to a sublime performance (and a well-deserved Oscar) as the haughty star who never plays frumps or virgins.

Others in the cast include Mary-Louise Parker as Cusack's drab girlfriend, Tracey Ullman as the actress with a dog, Harvey Fierstein, Rob Reiner, Jim Broadbent, and Joe Viterelli as the mobster. Edie Falco plays the small role of the assistant director.

The film is aided by the usual impeccable production design by Santo Loquasto and costumes by Jeffrey Kurland. The music is also spot on.

Excellent, smart comedy

[jjdausey · 10/10 · 12 April 2021]

Well-acted by all. Why is it not available for streaming purchase anywhere? Ridiculous.

One of Woody's best!

[jellopuke · 8/10 · 28 April 2023]

A playwright turns to a backer who turns to the mob to put on his new play. One thing, the mobster wants his girlfriend in the show. They agree and put it together but the molls bodyguard starts to give ideas, the actors have drama, and things get crazy before the show is ever put on.

This is a really fun, charming movie that plays great. Excellent cast, funny set up seen through, lots of backstage hijinks, and a breezy pace that makes it just a joy to watch. There's not Woody stammering to distract you, just the set up and the jokes coming through that. There's a lot to say about art and lots of gags that make this a must see.

Great but not one of my favorites from Woody Allen!

[Sylviastel · 9/10 · 31 December 2006]

This film is typical of Woody Allen's brilliance. He creates the scene about 1920's New York theater scene with scene stealer Dianne Weist who wins her second academy award again with Woody Allen plays a theater dame with a grandiose presence who takes on John Cusack's character. Of course, the play has problems getting produced. They filmed it at the real Belasco Theater in New York where I saw Jackie with Margaret Colin in 1997. Of course, that's what makes Woody Allen's films special is that he always films it in New York. I don't recall him as an actor in this film. He was wise enough to pass the role over to Cusack who does a superb job playing Woody's younger self. Anyway, Tilly does a terrific job playing an annoying and terrible actress but girlfriend of a mobster. What she wants is what she usually gets. First rate cast with Chaz Palminteri who was nominated along with Tilly for supporting acting Oscars. I hope Woody Allen will finally be recognized for his genius and get top honors like the National Medal of the Arts and honored by the Kennedy Center finally for his work. Nobody does New York like Woody Allen, of course, we all would like a bit of diversity in his films.

Jack Warden, RIP

[lee_eisenberg · 7/10 · 23 July 2006]

Jack Warden's recent death brings to mind all his movies, including this one. Watching "Bullets Over Broadway", one gets the feeling that Woody Allen is representing a personal experience. Whether or not he is, though, the movie's still pretty good. Portraying producer David Shayne (John Cusack) trying to put on a play in 1920s New York and having to acquiesce to a gangster's (Joe Viterelli) demands to cast the gangster's floozy girlfriend (Jennifer Tilly) in order to put on the play, the movie goes all out.

Yes, it sounds like a situation that we've seen before (including a "Gilligan's Island" episode), but Allen has some treats in store for us. For example, Dianne Wiest - who won Best Supporting Actress - has a comment about the world opening up; it's the sort of line that could only appear in Woody Allen movie! And there are many more.

Anyway, this just goes to show that Allen does much better when he goes for straight comedy, rather than idiotically focusing on neurotic rich New Yorkers. You're sure to like "BOB".

Oh, and Jack Warden plays John Cusack's co-producer. Also starring are Chazz Palminteri, Mary-Louise Parker, Rob Reiner, Tracey Ullman, Jim Broadbent, Harvey Fierstein and Margaret Sophie Stein.

A precisely wrought objet

[killercharm · 8/10 · 16 August 2022]

A precisely wrought objet, this flick is loads of fun. It's so funny and so pretty to look at. Dianne Wiest looks drop-dead in her star wattage character, Helen Sinclair, the tiniest bit past-her-prime Broadway star. Everyone looks beautiful, in a warm glow. They're rehearsing a play being produced by Julian Marx (Jack Warden) and written by David Shayne (John Cusack). It's being funded with a heavy hand by a mafioso and his girlfriend, Olive Neal, played to a turn by Jennifer Tilly gets a part in return. Her bodyguard, Cheech (Chazz Palminteri), is the big surprise.

Dying One's Best for Art

[ourilk · 9/10 · 30 October 2020]

Woody Allen turns his comedic cutting torch to the world he inhabits with a zest reserved for one's nearest and dearest. Like "Amadeus," "Bullets" is a match-up between creative genius and mediocrity, mediocrity personified here by an aspiring but limited dramaturge, David Shayne (John Cusack). To get backing for his first stage production from a mobster, Nick Valenti (Joe Viterellli), Shayne gives a part in the play to the mobster's talentless girlfriend (Jennifer Tilly's priceless Olive Neal). Olive comes to rehearsals with a young hoodlum, Cheech (Chazz Palminteri), as watchdog. Cheech and Shayne get chummy over beers and the playwright persuades Cheech to offer opinions about the play. Gradually Shayne grows to depend on the gangster's advice. As Cheech gets more involved in the creative end, he becomes increasingly intolerant of the dreadful effect on the play of Olive's incompetence. Finally, in desperation Cheech bumps her off, knowing that it is certain death at Valenti's hands. The moral of the piece: Cheech alone among the whole bunch is the one true artist, the only one willing to literally die for his art. But forget the moral. With supporting cast and dialog in top form, it is a fine time getting there, and Allen makes this the easiest and funniest medicine you will ever take.

Chazz Is Good, But Cusack's Loudness Ruined Film

[ccthemovieman-1 · 3/10 · 2 August 2007]

There was period in the early '90s where Chazz Palminteri was on a roll.. He emerged as a "name" actor and was really entertaining and even likable as a killer, as in "A Bronx Tale." This movie, "Bullets Over Broadway," was another example of him looking good. Palminteri, as "Cheech," was great to watch in this film.

Unfortunately, his other two costars were not entertaining, especially John Cusack, as playwright "David Shayne." Cusack's character shouted, ranted and raved throughout his scenes. Yeah, I know he is supposed to deliberately overact, but that still doesn't make it fun to hear. His hysterics really begin to grate on you after awhile and especially if you watch this movie twice, which I did.

I liked the story and Palminteri, and could put up with Jennifer Tilley's deliberately-stupid bimbo character "Olive Neal," but "Shayne" finally did me in. His character ruined the movie forever.

A Strong Supporting Cast Dominates the Action

[tfrizzell · 28 June 2000]

A Woody Allen written and directed film that does not include him in a single frame. It may seem strange, but it's true. Allen's "Bullets Over Broadway" deals with a struggling stage writer (John Cusack) who is so desperate to get one of his plays on Broadway in the 1920s that he reluctantly enlists the help of the local mafia crime lord to fund the play. Of course there is a large stipulation. The crime lord's girl must be in the play (hilariously played by Jennifer Tilly in an Oscar-nominated role). Needless to say she's terrible and Cusack struggles with her in the play. However, he has booked A-list actress Dianne Wiest (in her second Oscar-winning role) who is an alcoholic who has seen better days in her career. Tilly's bodyguard (Chazz Palminteri, also in an Oscar-nominated role) sees the play rehearsed firsthand and gives Cusack some directions on the project that Cusack cannot refuse. Palminteri is street smart and knows how people really talk, while Cusack is so educated that his words make no sense to the normal audience. This film is what "The Godfather" would have been like if Allen had directed it. The screenplay is outstanding and Allen's direction has rarely been better. Cusack is fun and hilarious, but it is the supporting cast that makes the movie work. Other than the aforementioned Oscar-nominated actors, there are great turns by several others. Mary-Louise Parker, Tracy Ullman, Jim Broadbent, Jack Warden, Rob Reiner, Harvey Feinstein, and Joe Viterelli are all superb in well-calculated supporting roles. 4 out of 5 stars.

much fun to be had

[christopher-underwood · 8/10 · 30 April 2017]

Set in 20s New York and featuring many great Gershwin songs, Woody Allen, without himself appearing, tells the story of a young aspiring playwright and a bunch of rather pretentious actors, contriving to put on a play in an old Broadway theatre. There is much fun to be had with the notion of man vs man the artist and indeed art and life itself and the whole is very funny with excellent performances. Dianne West is great as the old dame who one way or another will have her way and Jennifer Tilly fantastic as the gangster's moll, would be actress. Tracy Ullman is surely at her very best and least annoying and if John Cusack struggles here and there it must be because he has the unenviable task of playing Allen. Chazz Palminteri's role is pivotal as he gradually insinuates himself into centre stage, without any interruption to his extremely violent day job, of course. Its a few years since I last saw this and I had forgotten how much location shooting there is which ensures the film does not become bogged down within the admittedly attractive theatrical setting.

A Flawless Farce

[jennadelacruz-67799 · 10/10 · 5 November 2020]

One of my favorite Woody Allens. Truly funny. Just takes it right up to the line of ridiculous, but stops short so that every character is loveable.