Bright Lights, Big City

Name: Bright Lights, Big City
Genre: Drama
Released: April 1, 1988
Duration: 107 min
Rating: 51
Cast: Charlie Schlatter, David Warrilow, Dianne Wiest, Frances Sternhagen, John Houseman

1988

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Mixed or average reviews based on 18 Critic Reviews

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Bright Lights, Big City

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Movie Details & Credits

United Artists | Release Date: April 1, 1988 | R

Starring: Charlie Schlatter, David Warrilow, Dianne Wiest, Frances Sternhagen, John Houseman, Kiefer Sutherland, Michael J. Fox, Phoebe Cates, Swoosie Kurtz, Tracy Pollan

Summary: A disillusioned young writer living in New York City (Michael J. Fox) turns to drugs and drinking to block out the memories of his dead mother and estranged wife.

Director: James Bridges

Genre(s): Drama

Rating: R

Runtime: 107 min

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

Roger Ebert

Fox is very good in the central role (he has a long drunken monologue that is the best thing he has ever done in a movie). To his credit, he never seems to be having fun as he journeys through club land. Few do, for long. If you know someone like Jamie, take him to this movie, and don't let him go to the john. Read full review

Jay Scott

So you figure, what the hell, go with it and enjoy it for what it is, which is C-plus, but A-minus for effort and B-plus for honesty, and since you gave the book a D-minus, you decide you're going to tell your friends to skip the book and see the movie. Then you're left with only one nagging question as you walk out of the theatre into the bright lights of whatever big city you happen to be in: how is Pepsi going to feel about Michael J. Fox doing so much coke? [1 Apr 1988]

Gene Siskel

Save for the compelling oddity of seeing Michael J. Fox as a cocaine addict, this drama offers nothing special. [1 Apr 1988, p.A]

Staff (Not Credited)

It's hard to care much about Jamie Conway, an aspiring novelist who is dissipating his substance in New York on cocaine and parties: Fox hasn't the range to play anguish, so the explanatory voice-over is less a survival from the best-selling novel than a necessity. Read full review

Hal Hinson

The movie is like a Porsche outfitted with a lawn mower engine; there's not even enough juice to get the machine out of the driveway. Read full review

Staff (Not Credited)

This novel-cum-feature film (from Jay McInerney's book) is a distinctly morose and maudlin journey through one man's destructive period of personal loss. Read full review

Hal Boedeker

Jay McInerney's novel Bright Lights, Big City was hailed as a portrait of the vacuous, coked-out '80s generation. The movie is simply vacuous. The script, also written by Mc-Inerney, strips away the novel's witty and ironic voice. What is left is a vapid yet sentimental cautionary tale about the evils of drugs. Of course, drugs are terrible. But so is Bright Lights, Big City. [1 Apr 1988, p.C1]

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DawdlingPoet

Nov 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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