The Cotton Club is an unbelievably bad motion picture, from the big man himself, Francis Ford Coppola. Coppola -- a fine director, who can only make great films, or remarkably bad ones; seems to do everything wrong with this one. The Cotton Club is unfortunately one of the most overcooked films in existence.

People have different tastes in music. I for one have never liked jazz or tap dancing. So I guess I never had a chance in liking the film; since the music was crammed down my throat, in massive quantities, in extremely long time periods, throughout the film. I felt like I never had a chance to breath from it.

The film is a drowsy portrayal of the lives of several characters in Harlem in the 1920's. The film is filled with several characters, each with their own special story. None of the characters or stories are interesting, in fact one might wonder, as I often did, what this incoherent mess of a film is all about. Is it a crime film? There are a few particularly bloody scenes, mob bosses, tommy-guns, that kind of stuff. Is it a musical? God knows it has enough tap dancing and musical numbers in it to choke a donkey. Is it a love story? The film has it's fair amount of guys and dolls, heartfelt moments, and lustful kisses. The fact of the matter is, the film is trying to be all three, and in the process, it fails to be any of them.

The film has a remarkable cast, but all of them, with the exception of Bob Hoskins, seem to be sleep walking through the film. Then there is a young Nic Cage, an actor I usually like. He acts like he just took his lips off a crack pipe. I can just see him talking to himself off the set, hell yeah! I'm a-c-t-i-n-g!

Richard Gere. The man either works for a film, Primal Fear, An Officer and a Gentleman, or he just shows up for a paycheck, like he did for this one. His Dixie Dwyer, a man who's a musician, turned mob slave, turned actor; is one of the dullest lead characters i've seen in a film in some time.

Then there is the Gregory Hines character Sandman Williams. He falls for a woman the moment he lays eyes on her. He is black, she is white. They are both performers, and he is constantly watching her back stage, and trying to talk to her when ever he gets the chance. The only problem is, when ever he takes a peak at her, or tries to say something to her, he gets caught in the act by the racist manager in the back. It doesn't sound funny, but the way it was delivered, I could have sworn it was meant to be a running gag in the film. I actually found it humorous, because of the way it's played out. Admittedly, I felt guilty for laughing when I realized how much pain it brought the Hines character, and how there was some sort of message about segregation and racism with his story. It's just the way the scenes are acted out, it reminded me of the satirical parts in Spike Lee's Bamboozled.

Everyone in the film just seems to float by like driftwood. The only two actors in the film who caught my eye, were Diane Lane and Bob Hoskins. Lane, because I couldn't believe how young and gorgeous she is in the film. Hoskins, because no matter how small he is, like Joe Pesci, he still manages to be the most intimidating mother f*cker in the room.

The Cotton Club is a loud and pointless homage to the old gangster pictures and musicals. Such terms as, (Guys & Dolls on crack) come to mind when trying to describe the film. It's all glitter and no show.

There is one brilliant scene in the film; it's like Coppola read my mind. When the film finally ends, it ends like a big musical extravaganza. The cast who was performing in the Cotton Club proudly bows to the audience, who are all giving a standing ovation, all except for one man. The man has been sleeping for the entire show, when he awakes, he looks around and notices that everyone is clapping, he slowly begins to clap himself. That is how I felt, except I wasn't clapping, so much as booing in disgust.













Recommended:
No

Viewing Format: VHS
Video Occasion: None of the Above