In 1991, Hollywood had Bugsy on the brain. No less than three movies were released that
featured the notorious gangster Bugsy Siegel.
While The Marrying Man and Mobsters found Bugsy playing a supporting
role, this biopic by Barry Levinson puts Siegel front and center.
Warren Beatty stars as Bugsy, a coldblooded gangster who has
visions of creating a hotel in the desert, which would later be the inspiration
for Las Vegas. He has a hot temper to go
along with his grand vision. If anyone
calls him “Bugsy” to his face, they usually wind up six feet under. He falls in love with a movie star (Annette
Bening) who helps him achieve his dream.
However, escalating costs and Bugsy’s almost irritating need for
perfection soon makes his gangster investors (Harvey Keitel and Ben Kingsley among
them) nervous.
Written by James Toback (who also directed a slew of movies
that starred Keitel), Bugsy is an agreeable drama that coasts on the charms of
its performers. Beatty is as engaging as
ever and he has a lot of chemistry with Bening (so much so that they were later
married in real life). Kingsley and
Keitel (who were both nominated for Oscars for their work) are equally fine as
the gangsters who back Bugsy’s plans and do their best to stick with him
through thick and thin.
The film runs on a bit long and Levinson’s
style is overly glossy. That works in the movie’s favor though. Bugsy always fancied himself as a Hollywood
heavy, so it’s fitting that the film is slick and classy like an old-time movie
from the Golden Age.
It’s also one of those movies that shows the dark side of
the American Dream. Bugsy sees himself
as a visionary and desperately wants to make a name for himself. The fact he’s a gangster is irrelevant. We see him kill a man very early on in cold
blood. We know he’s capable of
violence. Despite that, Beatty is so charming that we are rooting for him the whole way. He makes Bugsy likeable like only Beatty
can. This is the guy who made bank robber
Clyde Barrow a hero after all.
It’s Bening who gets the best line of the movie when she
tells Beatty: “Why don’t you run outside
and jerk yourself a soda!”
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