Skip to main content

Forgotten Film Friday : Carny

A retrospective by Brooks Rich

I'm back from hiatus. Had to regroup and find my creative center. Let's kick the blog back off with a weird romantic drama from 1980 that stars Gary Busy as a dunk tank clown and Robbie Robertson from The Band as his partner at a carnival. 

Frankie is a dunk tank clown. Patches sells the balls people throw to dunk Frankie. Donna wants to escape small town life. Together the three of them form an odd love triangle set among the carny life of early '80s America. 

Sometimes we feature a film on Forgotten Film Friday that is forgotten for a reason. I get why this film has faded into obscurity. It is a weird little movie with an unsettling tone. Gary Busey is a dunk tank clown and this is not part of the slasher movie boom of the '80s. The sexual politics of this film have not aged that well either. Jodie Foster was around eighteen when she made this movie and although that's not illegal it still has an ew factor. 

But there is something about this movie. Busy and Robertson are both outstanding as Frankie and Patches. The friendship between them is intriguing and we get these are two men who have been working together for years. Donna sometimes is made to seem like the third wheel. A part of me wants her to go away and let Frankie and Patches be bros again. The film also gives us a fascinating look at carny life. We see that these people are family and will stand up for each other. 

The side plot of the film shows the problems the carnivals faces in each town. In one town some local is causing a scene after he was screwed out of two hundred bucks. Another scene shows the local authorities shutting the carnival down because their states forbids the display of human oddities for profit. Both times it's Patches who smooths things over, usually with a well place bribe or striking a deal. 

Carny is not a forgotten masterpiece. It is an oddity that is both a love triangle and a film about carny life, Only a certain type of film fan will like. Most people will either think it's boring, too weird, or borderline creepy. But there are some who will get something out of this. If you think this at all sounds interesting, give it a try. Who knows?



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Forgotten Film Friday: Absolute Power

Clint Eastwood stars as Luther Whitney, a jewel thief who works in the Washington DC area. One night while he is stealing from a mansion he is forced to hide in a secret compartment with a two way mirror. From there he observes a sexual rezendevous with the wife of a powerful man and the President of the United States Alan Richmond (Gene Hackman) Suddenly the president gets aggressive and while defending herself the woman is shot to death by two Secret Service agents. Luther manages to get away with a letter opener the woman stabbed the president with. At first Luther plans to flee the country. But when he is disgusted by a statement the president makes, Luther decides to expose the crime. I miss these kind of films. The nineties was a great time for thrillers exactly like this. They are not the flashiest films but they are also not obsessed with big action scenes. It's all plot and character with them. Sure this plot might be a little out there but Eastwood makes it work. He's...
1 comment
Read more

Oscar Bait month: The Shipping News

 A retrospective by Brooks Rich Lasse Hallstrom is one of those directors I think is incredibly talented but his films normally don't do a thing for me. There just always that comes up short for me, whether its the story or how its shot or the acting or something. Most people will know Hallstrom as the director of What's Eating Gilbert Grape, the breakout role of Leonardo Dicaprio. That is probably my favorite of his films. I know everyone loves Chocolat. Great, enjoy, I think it's lame. But today let's discuss his follow up to The Cider House Rules, his film from 1999 which did very well come awards season, and Chocolat. Both of these films did very well, especially The Cider House Rules. The big reward it got was Best Supporting Actor for Michael Caine. It also won Best Adapted Screenplay for John Irving. This isn't fair to Cider House Rules but I think it's overrated as far as nominations go. 1999 is one of the greatest years in cinema and really? We nominate...
Post a Comment
Read more

John Travolta month: Saturday Night Fever

 A retrospective by Brooks Rich So this was not the big start of John Travolta's career. That would be the classic sitcom Welcome Back, Kotter. But this did elevate Travolta to another level. For any of you going oh come on. This silly movie with a disco soundtrack? Come on, Brooks. Just wait. Have you ever actually seen this? This isn't about disco. Disco just happens to be the music of choice. This about the kind of people who are kings at the dance clubs and then losers the rest of the time. There is a lot of darkness and truth in this film. So if you've never seen it please. Do yourself a flavor and check it out. Just watch it and then come back to read this.  This is a movie about the different types of people we become between our real lives and our weekend lives. Tony Manero is a regular working class guy in a Brooklyn neighborhood, struggling to make ends meet and dealing with his loving but at times overbearing family. He lives in the shadow of his priest brother. ...
Post a Comment
Read more