The Bonfire Of The Vanities Reviews

1990

Rated:
50
from 1431 members

Brian De Palma (SCARFACE) directed this lavish adaptation of Tom Wolfe's best-selling satirical novel, featuring Tom Hanks, Melanie Griffith, and Bruce Willis. Hanks stars as Sherman McCoy, a distinctly 1980s brand of wealthy Wall Street wizard who takes a mighty fall from his glitzy lifestyle after he and his mistress (.. Read more

Starring	Tom Hanks, Melanie Griffith, Bruce Willis, Kim Cattrall
Director	Brian De Palma
Genres	Drama

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Critics' reviews (4) of The Bonfire Of The Vanities
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Brian De Palma's adaptation of Tom Wolfe's scathing novel about the yuppie lifestyles of the Wall Street rich and Park Avenue famous is, admittedly, a flawed satire (the casting of Tom Hanks and Melanie Griffith didn't help), but it's hardly the irredeemably awful disaster most critics led you to believe. And, anyway, even a lesser De Palma picture is a whole lot more interesting than most A-list directors' good ones. Purely from a technical standpoint, it's a marvel — the opening four-minute continuous shot, for example — and now that the glaring media spotlight has been turned off, its subtle entertainment values can gloriously shine through.
- Radio Times
- Posted 29 Jan 2006
De Palma's film of Tom Wolfe's dark, hilarious magnum opus bombed in the States - amid charges of racism - and it's... read more on Time Out
- Time Out
- Posted 04 Nov 2008
Strained attempt at social satire, miscast and missing all its targets.
- Halliwell's Film Guide
- Posted 02 Mar 2006
Most helpful members' reviews (3) of The Bonfire Of The Vanities
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1 out of 1 person found this review helpful

Rubbish.

Clean the oven instead; much more entertaining.
- - Alexander Gener from Blackheath, UK
  - Posted 09 Feb 2006 23:10
1 out of 1 person found this review helpful

This stinks!!!!

Great cast, great book-what went wron? Often voted the worst film of all time in a number of poles,with very good reason. Avoid like a dose of syphallis!!!
- - A customer from England
  - Posted 18 May 2006 20:51
1 out of 1 person found this review helpful

shockingly bad

What a rubbish adapation of a brilliant book. Nothing hung together and casting was awfull. Bruce willis as the alcoholic journalist was soooo unconvincing and tom hanks wasn't swanky enough. Best avoided.
- - A customer from yorks
  - Posted 01 Jun 2006 21:45
Most recent members' reviews (2) of The Bonfire Of The Vanities
View all
1 out of 1 person found this review helpful

shockingly bad

What a rubbish adapation of a brilliant book. Nothing hung together and casting was awfull. Bruce willis as the alcoholic journalist was soooo unconvincing and tom hanks wasn't swanky enough. Best avoided.
- - A customer from yorks
  - Posted 01 Jun 2006 21:45
Disappointment

I think the writer of the story was trying to make some important points about social divisions in 80's America. As it was at times I did not know whether I was watching a comedy or a drama.

If there was any point to be got it was lost somewhere in the glitz...
- - Tudle from Merseyside
  - Posted 08 Nov 2004 20:09

1 out of 1 person found this review helpful

Rubbish.

Clean the oven instead; much more entertaining.
- - Alexander Gener from Blackheath, UK
  - Posted 09 Feb 2006 23:10
1 out of 1 person found this review helpful

This stinks!!!!

Great cast, great book-what went wron? Often voted the worst film of all time in a number of poles,with very good reason. Avoid like a dose of syphallis!!!
- - A customer from England
  - Posted 18 May 2006 20:51
1 out of 1 person found this review helpful

shockingly bad

What a rubbish adapation of a brilliant book. Nothing hung together and casting was awfull. Bruce willis as the alcoholic journalist was soooo unconvincing and tom hanks wasn't swanky enough. Best avoided.
- - A customer from yorks
  - Posted 01 Jun 2006 21:45
2 out of 4 people found this review helpful

They can get you whoever you are

Good Cast, Tom Hanks, Bruce Willis, Melanie Griffiths and Morgan Freeman plus others that I recognised, You can imagine this sort of thing happening, but with high profile cases like OJ, you would expect the money to ensure they get off whether they did it or not. Melanie Griffiths was good as a bimbo which she has made her own, but pointing out in all her roles that they are not always as thick as they make out. Good to see TH as a nutter(scene in his house). BW tries to be cool but I wasn't impressed
- - A customer from Stevenage, England
  - Posted 17 Feb 2005 18:58
1 out of 2 people found this review helpful

Why was this not on the bonfire?

Tom Hanks must deny he ever did this movie but it was probably a Melanie Griffiths career high. She's awful in the best movies, let alone this turkey. Save your money, watch a different Hanks movie otherwise you might think he's poor & he's not.
- - A customer from Bletchley
  - Posted 28 Jul 2005 18:51
1 out of 2 people found this review helpful

terrible adaptation of the book

I don't understand why such a superb book has been so turned into such an execrable movie.

Almost all of the biting anger and irony of the book has been sugar coated or removed.

The court room scene where Hanks gets revenge is such a travesty of the book I don't know where to even start.

If you haven't read the book (and you really should) then it may be a passable movie. But I can't imagine what Tom Wolfe was thinking when he let these jokers loose on his masterwork.
- - Andrew from London
  - Posted 09 Oct 2005 19:29
1 out of 2 people found this review helpful

Quite insipid

The movie was quite tedious and the cast not too convincing.

With Tom Hanks in the movie, I thought this was a sure hit, but I was wrong. The only applaudable performance was that of Morgan Freeman, who played a presiding judge.

If you rent movies because of the cast, do not take this one. The 80's style, the boring performances of Willis, Griffiths just did not pull this movie in the top choices.

Boring!
- - Simulet from West Sussex
  - Posted 14 Jun 2004 12:02
Disappointment

I think the writer of the story was trying to make some important points about social divisions in 80's America. As it was at times I did not know whether I was watching a comedy or a drama.

If there was any point to be got it was lost somewhere in the glitz...
- - Tudle from Merseyside
  - Posted 08 Nov 2004 20:09
1 out of 2 people found this review helpful

Palma Violates

I have to confess that this rating is on the basis only of the first hour of the movie - I gave up watching at that point.

This is truly dreadful. Director Brian di Palma has decided to "improve" on the original book, and the result is that the film lacks a balanced or plausible story. Because of this, the satire of the novel becomes merely a nasty chronicle of injustice, which makes for very uncomfortable and annoying viewing.

Tom Hanks is woefully miscast, and inspires nothing but sympathy for his plight, whereas the story only really works if part of you wants him to get what's coming to him. The droll study of an English has-been journalist, exploiting his "Brit" aura to wow the Yanks, is rather lost when he is turned into a very American Bruce Willis (also hopelessly at sea in his role). Add to this the fact that the writer and director reduce the two powerful female characters to brain-dead floozies, and the film sinks totally into the mire.

There must have been a great movie to make out this tremendous novel, but this certainly isn't it. As "Variety" magazine dubbed it - "misfire of the inanities".
- - klauski from west sussex
  - Posted 17 Jan 2005 15:06
Ok.... just

This movie was watchable.... just.

I expected more from this cast but did not find them very convincing . I have to admit that I watched out of morbid curiosity to see where it was going. But my husband gave up part way through and didn't even bother watching the end.
- - Lisa Q from Hertfordshire
  - Posted 22 Nov 2006 17:53

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Critics' reviews (4)
Brian De Palma's adaptation of Tom Wolfe's scathing novel about the yuppie lifestyles of the Wall Street rich and Park Avenue famous is, admittedly, a flawed satire (the casting of Tom Hanks and Melanie Griffith didn't help), but it's hardly the irredeemably awful disaster most critics led you to believe. And, anyway, even a lesser De Palma picture is a whole lot more interesting than most A-list directors' good ones. Purely from a technical standpoint, it's a marvel — the opening four-minute continuous shot, for example — and now that the glaring media spotlight has been turned off, its subtle entertainment values can gloriously shine through.
- Radio Times
- Posted 29 Jan 2006
De Palma's film of Tom Wolfe's dark, hilarious magnum opus bombed in the States - amid charges of racism - and it's... read more on Time Out
- Time Out
- Posted 04 Nov 2008
Strained attempt at social satire, miscast and missing all its targets.
- Halliwell's Film Guide
- Posted 02 Mar 2006
"...An array of flamboyant supporting performances..."
- Sight and Sound
- Posted 11 Mar 2005