Quartile rating: 7.5/10 · 1 rating
After young playwright, David Shayne obtains funding for his play from gangster Nick Valenti, Nick's girlfriend Olive miraculously lands the role of a psychiatrist—but not only is she a bimbo who could never pass for a psychiatrist—she's a dreadful actress. David puts up with the leading man who is a compulsive eater, the grand dame who wants her part jazzed up, and Olive's interfering hitman/bodyguard—but, eventually he must decide whether art or life is more important.
Bullets Over Broadway is a sharp, witty Woody Allen comedy that fires on most cylinders. The plot is cleverly constructed with genuine comic momentum and a surprisingly astute central conceit about artistic integrity vs. moral compromise — earning a strong 4. The ensemble acting is exceptional: Dianne Wiest's Oscar-winning turn as Helen Sinclair is one of the great comic performances of the decade, supported by a terrific cast including Chazz Palminteri and John Cusack — another 4. Cinematography, while competent and period-appropriate with warm 1920s atmosphere courtesy of Carlo Di Palma, doesn't transcend the functional — a solid 3. Novelty lands at 3: the film is a polished, witty Allen period comedy with a clever premise, but it sits within a recognizable Allen-esque theatrical milieu rather than staking out entirely new ground. The ending, while satisfying and thematically coherent, resolves a bit too neatly and conventionally for a story that had raised genuinely complex questions about art and authorship — a 3.