Bright Lights, Big City

United Artists | Release Date: April 1, 1988

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DawdlingPoetNov 28, 2021

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This movie is quite slow and depressing - the story surrounding Jamie and why he does what he does during his free time takes a while to build up. Michael J Fox plays a seemingly arrogant young adult trying to live it up in the 'big city' while also trying to maintain a fairly high flying job as a writer/journalist. This movie was released in the late 1980s so its very much set in the world of yuppies - hard work and even harder partying - you get the idea.

The main appeal of this movie is the cast, with, as previously mentioned, Michael J Fox and Kiefer Sutherland playing the main roles of Jamie and Tad. The movie is frustrating to watch as you can see that Jamie is clearly using his time off to preoccupy himself in a way to block things and to convince himself that he's on the up but its the question of what it is he's running away from, that leaves you wondering - there are very subtle clues throughout which don't really give much away, its not until close to the end that they come together to make more sense but you could be mistaken for doubting the authenticity of the flashbacks, given the state of mind Jamie must be in at the time. I found this movie quite bland, dull and depressing for at least the first half, until we started to uncover more about Jamie's past, though (if anyones seen it then correct me if im wrong but as far as I can remember) we get barely any background info on Kiefers character, Tad. Ultimately, I suppose this movie works if you care to care about Jamie and want to discover what has led him to his current lifestyle, which I think its fair to say takes a nosedive. Fox gives a then usual quite energetic and expressive performance and I think he does quite well to portray someone who appears one way but is really struggling behind the scenes.

I should mention that there are various scenes showing drugs being inhaled and as such its not recommended viewing for younger or particularly impressionable teenagers in a sense I suppose, not that they'd necessarily be *that* interested in it I suppose,given that its over 20 years old now and so its not entirely modern or 'cool' I guess. It could also be said in another sense that the movie gives out the message that you ultimately can't run away entirely from your past and your family, it'll catch up with you and you don't come off very well but has that stopped people from leading such a life? not all of them, no. I think the movie works to an extent, there are some shots zooming in on press cuttings on Jamies fridge door about 'dead coma baby' making you wonder what relevance that has, some of the stories that are told to girls Tad tries to get on Jamie's side when their at clubs in town, little bits here and there making you curious about his background, about what the truth is, especially in relation to his mysterious estranged (or has she passed on?) wife. The problem is, its just that bit too slow and dreary in the 'middle section' I felt, when Jamie was trying to finish his work assignment, I felt that it dragged a bit and I wasn't too bothered about watching at that point, though it picked up more towards the end. This isn't, as I've said before, the kind of movie I'd necessarily choose, having added it to my rental list due to the cast, the fact I'd never heard of it I thought it might be nice to see something other than yet another blockbuster action movie or average comedy but mainly as im becoming woefully low in titles(!) (side note - anyone who can recommend a movie I might not have heard of, please get in touch - thanks!) but I think overall its ok, by the end it feels like there's been a story there and there's maybe a moral message or two, the performances are good all things considered but its certainly not a movie I'd say I felt amazed me in any way. I think this is a good movie 'of its time', if that makes sense(?). I can't think what else I can say about it to be honest though...I don't think anything really stood out otherwise and I wouldn't call it a particularly memorable movie, although I don't think that necessarily means it was a shoddily made movie, its ok.

I'd say that if your fans of the cast then its worth a watch - its fairly decent but its not a movie I'd go out of my way to watch, so I guess overall I'd say no, its not worth paying a great deal for, if that makes sense.… Expand

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