Directed by: Brian De Palma
Starring: Tom Hanks, Melanie Griffith, Bruce Willis, John Hancock, Kevin Dunn, Alan King, Morgan Freeman, Saul Rubinek, F. Murray Abraham, Kim Cattrall
Bonfire of the Vanities received a critical drubbing and was a box-office flop when released in late 1990. Many reviews I've read compared it to the book and the consensus was it paled in comparison. I have never read the book. The movie is offbeat and cynical in its focus on the media and sensationalistic journalism. It may have foreseen Twitter and today's social media in which misinformation is treated as fact.
A telling scene in Bonfire of the Vanities involves Bruce Willis as investigative reporter Peter Fallow, who hears a story of a black teen who may or may not have been run over by a car occupied by Wall Street tycoon Sherman McCoy (Hanks) and Maria Ruskin (Griffith). Fallow asks the teen's former teacher about what type of student he was. The teacher replies, "In my school, if the student didn't piss on you, then he would be an honor student". Fallow asks, "What do you recall about him?" The teacher: "Well, I don't think he ever pissed on me," The next day, the newspaper headlines proclaimed, "HONOR STUDENT VICTIM OF HIT AND RUN" or something to that effect.
This is done as satire, but these days it is true. When a big story hits, news outlets don't even attempt to check facts before delivering "breaking news". Maybe The Bonfire of the Vanities was too obvious in its satire or maybe it hit too close to home to succeed. People don't like to necessarily look in the mirror at their own foibles. What's here is pretty entertaining and pretty scathing. From reading about the book, there are no heroes and the book ends on a highly pessimistic note. The movie tweaks this, making Sherman (who ultimately is blamed for the mishap) somewhat sympathetic despite his Wall Street status. He seems to be a nicer Gordon Gekko, so we feel for him when he is fed to the opportunistic lawyers and media. Especially since, heaven forbid, he might actually be innocent. The ending is somewhat hopeful even if it pretends not to be.
Sherman is a man with millions in the bank, a luxurious Park Avenue apartment, and a sexy mistress who can't be trusted when the chips are down. He is married to the ultra skinny and pale Judy (Cattrall), who explains to their daughter that Daddy is the type of guy who doesn't bake cakes, but makes a living off the crumbs. It is not meant to be flattering. Sherman's father (Donald Moffat) is an honorable, decent rich man who believes in principles and took the subway to work every day. He provides the moral compass by which Sherman at first denounces, but soon embraces as the walls close in on him. Sherman can free himself from this mess if he lies about evidence that would exonerate him even though it was obtained illegally. The judge who presides over the case against Sherman is Judge White (Freeman), who tries to maintain some semblance of law, order, and decency in his courtroom.
The rest of the characters that inhabit this world are varying degrees of opportunists and vultures. Fallow is chief among them. This is the type of story that can save his faltering career. He tells McCoy, "You are dinner to these people. In three weeks, they are not even going to remember what they ate." The movie and likely the book are full of cynical truths like that. Director De Palma engages a lot of close ups similar to Stanley Kubrick's patented views of characters looking up at someone peering down at them. Only in this case, the characters seem to almost be attacked by the camera, like a scavenging bird swooping down on them. They are under attack and De Palma not so subtly makes his point. It is a shame the movie's reputation may not have allowed the public to view it with an open mind. It is as subtle as a sledgehammer to the face, but its points remain valid even today. More so today than ever.
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