Gabe Rodríguez’s review published on Letterboxd:
"We could've been anything that we wanted to be..."
BUGSY MALONE is perhaps the quintessential example of kitschy entertainment. It's a goofy concept but executed very well, and there really is no other film quite like it.
The film's entire gimmick is that it's a gangster musical with an all-child cast who are dubbed by adult voices when they sing (the songs are composed by Paul Williams, who's voice also comes out of many of the kids' mouths). This leads to the kids often overacting or coming off as stilted while saying generic wiseguy dialog, but it works in the film's favor. John Cassisi as Fat Sam in particular is a very over-the-top performance of an over-the-top character. During the lip-syncing scenes, the kids tend to ham it up or make goofy movements.
This has often made critics, and even Alan Parker himself, retroactively question how the film would have turned out had the child actors done their own singing. While I don't know if it would have made the movie better, it definitely would have made it feel more authentic, but then the camp factor wouldn't have been as high.
The irony is that everything else about the film's production (the set design, the cinematography, the 1920's aesthetic) all feels authentic and as if you're watching a genuine gangster film, which somehow makes the whole thing even funnier. The choreography is also very good.
The plot...well, the plot isn't the point. It's intentionally a pastiche of every gangster movie trope there is. The fourth-wall breaking ending where everyone sings with pies in their faces pretty much openly encourages this silliness.
The movie has since been adapted to stage; I once saw a high school production of it, and honestly think it works better that way. This type of self-aware hokiness tends to land better when in front of a live audience.
I think I feel about BUGSY MALONE the same way I feel about OLIVER! Neither is really a good movie, but the songs and nostalgia factor are strong. Most of the experience it gives you you can easily get from watching clips on YouTube. And it always puts a smile on my face.
"You give a little love and it all comes back to you."
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