Bugsy Malone [VHS] [1976]

Remember that scene in Jerry Maguire where the title character suddenly realises the foolhardiness of his impulsively written manifesto? That's how director Alan Parker (The Commitments, Fame) ought to feel every day of his life since making this dopey, 1976 musical featuring an all-kid cast playing Prohibition-era gangsters and molls. What was Parker thinking? The cuteness of the concept never did hold up for more than 10 minutes, but the film extends it impossibly into a feature. Jodie Foster is on hand, lip-synching a Paul Williams song (Williams wrote the score), but even she can't detract from the film's overall silliness. It's a toss-up as to whether children will enjoy watching it, since the characters and the milieu are based on adult situations. --Tom Keogh, Amazon.com ...(click for less)

Remember that scene in Jerry Maguire where the title character suddenly realises the foolhardiness of his impulsively written manifesto? That's how director Alan Parker (The Commitments, Fame) ought to feel every day of his life since making this dopey, 1976 musical fe...(click for more.)