Bright Lights, Big City (1988)

User Rating:

5.3/10   

Director:

James Bridges

Writers (WGA):

Jay McInerney (novel)
Jay McInerney (screenplay)

Release Date:

1 April 1988 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

A disillusioned young writer living in New York City turns to drugs and drinking to block out the memories of his dead mother and estranged wife.

Plot Keywords:

New York City | Writer | Estranged Wife | Magazine | Dead Mother

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Michael J. Fox	...	Jamie Conway
Kiefer Sutherland	...	Tad Allagash
Phoebe Cates	...	Amanda
Swoosie Kurtz	...	Megan
Frances Sternhagen	...	Clara
Tracy Pollan	...	Vicky
John Houseman	...	Mr. Vogel
Charlie Schlatter	...	Michael
David Warrilow	...	Rittenhouse
Dianne Wiest	...	Mother
Alec Mapa	...	Yasu Wade
William Hickey	...	Ferret Man
Gina Belafonte	...	Kathy
Sam Robards	...	Rich Vanier
Bernard Zette	...	Stevie (as Zette)

Runtime:

107 min

Country:

USA | Japan

Language:

English

Color:

Color (DuArt)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:L | UK:15 (video re-rating) (2003) | UK:18 (video rating) (1989) | UK:18 (original rating) | Sweden:15 | Australia:R | France:-16 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Finland:K-16 | USA:R | West Germany:16 | Norway:15

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company:

CST Telecommunications

Trivia:

This film is based on the novel by Jay McInerney of the same name. The book was also an inspiration for a rock musical of the same name, which premiered in 1999 and later went on to be a studio album.

Goofs:

Continuity: During Jamie's story of his relationship with Amanda to Megan his wineglass goes from half-full to empty in less than two seconds, while he's speaking.

Quotes:

Ferret Man: Wanna buy a ferret?
Jamie Conway: No, thanks.
Ferret Man: His name is Fred...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Freddy's Nightmares: The Light at the End of the Tunnel (#1.20)" (1989)

Soundtrack:

Divine Emotions

Don't bother. Really. Don't even bother.

I read the original book for a Freshman English class, and was enthralled by a unique character study from a Second Person perspective. Then, the teacher showed us this, and now I understand why "film snobs" always complain "The book was better." In this case, it most certainly IS. There's a major plot point toward the end of the book (which I won't mention here, not so I won't spoil the movie, but the book), that puts all that you read into perspective and makes it all worthwhile. Here, the point is revealed in the first 5 minutes, and it ruins any reason to sit through this motion picture. Instead of reading and wondering "Why is he like this?," which was one of the main reasons the book was such a page-turner, the movie tells you why he does it, and you just sit there and watch him do it, knowing why. Remember how people say they hate people who reveal the endings to things? Well, this movie just up and DOES IT ITSELF! If you still want to see the movie, first read the book, then have some fun with friends picking apart this mish-mosh of a noble failure.