Bullets Over Bway ( Why no talk ? )

[stevie3]

Posted: 5/8/14 at 2:44am

Just Wondering : Why are all other shows on this message Board getting talked about, and nothing is being said about Bullets ? Be Serious please

[rosscoe(au)]

Posted: 5/8/14 at 3:10am

I think most people didn't think it lived up to what it should have been.

[FishermanBob]

Posted: 5/8/14 at 4:28am

There have been loads of discussions about Bullets, in every awards thread, 6 or 7 should I see Bullets or something else threads, numerous other threads and lengthy dedicated threads for reviews and previews. Can you explain why you feel there has been no talk about it and exactly how much discussion you feel there needs to be?

https://forum.broadwayworld.com/readmessage.php?thread=1071445#4532319

https://forum.broadwayworld.com/readmessage.php?thread=1070118#4526107

[Love Theatre2]

Posted: 5/8/14 at 7:45am

Personally speaking, I came to the city and saw 8 shows, last week. Bullets was my least favorite, but most anticipated. I was so, disappointed. It was so, blatantly overdone. Just call it, The Producers. In your face, loud, and the story, if you adore the movie, as I do, was completely changed, including the ending. It was such a disappointment, to me.
The director, I believe, was a mismatch in terms of this show. The performances are good, and the actors did what was asked of them. I had a few chuckles, but that was it.
The audience did, love it, from what I could tell. I did not.

[Theater'sBestFriend]

Posted: 5/8/14 at 9:12am

It might seem that way because Tony nomination discussion was bundled into one thread instead of being broken out by show. That, in addition to the fact that Bullets (like the majority of shows) opened right before the Tony nominations, means there were less show-specific threads. You have to wade through through the very long Tony nomination thread to find many of the Bullets or other show-specific comments.

[mamaleh]

Posted: 5/8/14 at 9:22am

Guess I'm the lone voice in the wilderness here, but I loved every silly, goofy, exhilarating moment of BULLETS OVER BROADWAY. I wasn't expecting The World's Greatest Musical, just a tuneful, fun time with some terrific choreography and performances, especially by Cordero, Mazzie, Ashmanskas, Ziemba and Braff. And that's what I perceived. It worked for me.

[ghostlight2]

Posted: 5/8/14 at 9:37am

I'm in agreement with everyone here, mostly. It's a good show, but not a great show. It misses its mark on a number of levels. It's a much-beloved movie, and hopes were high.

It has a great cast, it's fun, it 's beautiful to look at, and not the worst way to spend an evening - but it could have been so much more.

Ultimately, I lay the blame at Woody's feet. It's the writing (and to a degree, the direction) that failed this one. I also believe that using existing music with rewritten lyrics was awkward. I think Woody probably had too much input, and he is out of touch now (see "Yes, We Have No Bananas"). I get what he was going for there, but it doesn't work. It's a big WTF.

And the PR problems (Dylan's accusations of abuse, Woody's alleged refusal to cast more than one person of color) didn't help.

Too bad. This really could have been a blockbuster. I'd still recommend it, but with caveats.

[tazber]

Posted: 5/8/14 at 10:03am

Woody said in an interview that Marvin Hamlisch asked to do the adaptation and he (Woody) said sure.

But Hamlisch never got back to him and after some years it was suggested to do it with period songs.

All I can think about is how great this could have been with a Hamlisch score.

[Love Theatre2]

Posted: 5/8/14 at 10:18am

I think that it is more likely, that woody had very little to do with it....
and that is what I think is the problem.
I think the director took it in a direction of a big, splashy, and very over done, way.
I think the performers did a wonderful job with what they were given, to do.
It is what they were given to do, that I feel, was the problem.......I agree w/ Brantley, and his review. It was probably not meant to be a musical. I would have enjoyed it, as the comedy, that is was, like Brighten Beach Memoirs. (which unfortunately didn't make it long, but was beautiful.) A comedy, straight play, but w/ some music in the backround. And the jokes, softly done, not pushed and exaggarated beyond belief. I am sure this is a matter of humor, and personal taste. I like to figure things out, not have them hammered over my head. And I do prefer the original ending, "did you love me, for the artist, or the man?"....... "both". That was so funny, in the movie. Instead, we got, yes, we have no bananas. As stated in the previous post, I agree! WTF?

Updated On: 5/8/14 at 10:18 AM

[Patash]

Posted: 5/8/14 at 10:24am

"Bullets was my least favorite, but most anticipated. I was so, disappointed. It was so, blatantly overdone. Just call it, The Producers."

Ummm. To many of us, you just gave it the supreme compliment. But I take it you didn't like The Producers either? If so, does that mean if we LOVED The Producers, then we are likely to LOVE Bullets?

[Love Theatre2]

Posted: 5/8/14 at 10:40am

Yes, if you love The Producers, you would probably love it.
Have you ever heard a musical artist, or composer, and felt it all their work, sort of sounds, the same? That each piece of music, is not very, original? That is what I am trying to describe. It's "Stroman". Not "Bullets". It's "The Producers", not "Bullets'.
It feels, the same. If that makes, sense. Just my opinion........
If I go and see, "Romeo and Juliet', i hope to see, Romeo and Juliet. Done, well, or done better.

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 5/8/14 at 10:42am

Nah-- The Producers is funny. Bullets Over Broadway is not funny.

[haterobics]

Posted: 5/8/14 at 10:42am

"I think that it is more likely, that woody had very little to do with it.... and that is what I think is the problem."

Well, he was at every preview, so...

[haterobics]

Posted: 5/8/14 at 10:46am

"It might seem that way because Tony nomination discussion was bundled into one thread instead of being broken out by show. That, in addition to the fact that Bullets (like the majority of shows) opened right before the Tony nominations, means there were less show-specific threads."

There was a Bullets previews thread for before it opened, and a Bullets reviews thread for when it opened and afterward, same as every show. Those are the main two threads for every show.

[ghostlight2]

Posted: 5/8/14 at 11:05am

""I think that it is more likely, that woody had very little to do with it.... and that is what I think is the problem."

"Well, he was at every preview, so..."

Yes, Woody was heavily involved with every aspect of the production. It has been reported that the :"Yes, We Have No Bananas" debacle exists almost solely because of him.

[RaisedOnMusicals]

Posted: 5/8/14 at 11:16am

"Guess I'm the lone voice in the wilderness here, but I loved every silly, goofy, exhilarating moment of BULLETS OVER BROADWAY. I wasn't expecting The World's Greatest Musical, just a tuneful, fun time with some terrific choreography and performances, especially by Cordero, Mazzie, Ashmanskas, Ziemba and Braff. And that's what I perceived. It worked for me."

I'm with you 100% mamaleh.

SPOILER BELOW RE BANANAS

And I strongly disagree with those who call "Yes, We Have No Bananas" a debacle. When I saw the show, I thought it made perfect sense. Olive has just been blown to bits, and yet Nick does not seem particularly despondent. So when he's asked how he can still be "up" when his girlfriend has been murdered, he responds with the story of his Italian mother and her optimistic view of life, which is the point of YES, we have no bananas, meaning, I thought, we might not have bananas today but there's always something at least as good. So for Nick, not having Olive, his "banana", was OK because YES!, the show that he backed was a hit and he'd be making a ton of money.

[ghostlight2]

Posted: 5/8/14 at 11:23am

"I strongly disagree with those who call "Yes, We Have No Bananas" a debacle."

I'm not "those", I'm just lil ol me. Maybe "debacle" was too strong a word, but it seems the majority of people do not care for the ending. It's very Marx brothers, and they were great - but it sorta comes out of nowhere here. It's a good a way to end a silly show like this as any, but the fact that so many people don't like it (and that so many who were involved in the show fought it) speaks volumes.

Woody had his time. I think that time has passed.

[Someone in a Tree2]

Posted: 5/8/14 at 11:26am

I agree wholeheartedly with ghostlight2's review. We had a very similar experience 2 weeks ago-- a Broadway blitz of 7 shows in 5 days (we live in LA). Bullets was the first ticket we bought and with the highest hopes. For us it was a complete disappointment on so many levels, and all of it comes down to lack of originality. We've seen it all before-- the same jokes, the same highs and lows, the same tap-dancing gangsters, dopey-sexy showgirls, boarding the train for the out-of-town tryout. Every joke, dance step and pratfall. Saddest of all, we'd even seen William Ivey Long's chrysler-building gowns and Santo Loquasto's night club sets before. (If only Santo had been more inspired by the brilliant sets supplied in the movie by... oh, right, Santo Loquasto.)

Three moments popped to life for us: Zach Braff's Act I panic in "I'm Sitting on Top of the World", the dancing redcaps to end Act I, and Betsy Wolfe's Act II torch song, "I've Found a New Baby." Three moments that left a long dispiriting evening to sit through around them. And yes, it's true, the audience around us just loved the show from beginning to end.

[Patash]

Posted: 5/8/14 at 12:36pm

"Woody had his time. I think that time has passed."

Did you see Blue Jasmine? Besides Cate Blanchett's amazing performance I thought the film itself was only slightly short of brilliant.

[Jane2]

Posted: 5/8/14 at 4:31pm

I loved Bullets. I laughed a lot and was entertained. That's enough for me.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 5/8/14 at 4:35pm

Ditto Jane

[PianoMann]

Posted: 5/8/14 at 5:08pm

I thought Bullets was very good! I kept up with the previews thread, as I've been highly anticipating it since it was announced, so perhaps my expectations were slightly curbed.

I thought all of the performances were great, and the period score was very effective; the lyric changes really helped integrate the songs into the story rather seamlessly.

I think part of the problem is the book, not that it isn't funny, but some of the gags are far too overwrought. The binge-eating actor was funny, but nearly every time he's on stage there is a variation on the same gag: he's gotten fatter, now he's eating dog biscuits, he has a chicken leg in his pocket. Some of the supporting characters, like the one just described, suffer from being extremely one-dimensional.

I also disagree that this is a reflection of Woody's fading skill; Midnight In Paris and Blue Jasmine are two excellent films and screenplays with very different tones and artistic goals. Both were extremely successful, commercially and critically.

On a side note: does anyone think Christine Baranski would have been utterly brilliant as Helen Sinclair?! I loved Marin Mazzie, but her performance seemed so influenced by Baranski's mannerisms that I couldn't help picturing her in it and how amazing she would be! I know she's busy, and doing career-best work, on The Good Wife, but I would have loved to see her originate Helen on the stage!

[perfectlymarvelous]

Posted: 5/8/14 at 6:17pm

Personally the thing that killed the show for me was the interpolated songs. It just didn't work, and I found myself imagining how funny and effective various moments could have been with original songs. The performers are great but so many of the big numbers fell flat because they weren't really doing anything dramatically or character-wise and they just weren't interesting.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 5/8/14 at 6:34pm

Although we liked the show, the problem we thought was that the book was not as funny as the movie. It looked like some of the best gags from the movie were removed.

[haterobics]

Posted: 5/8/14 at 6:45pm

"the problem we thought was that the book was not as funny as the movie."

Most people complained the book was identical to the movie, though?!

"Woody had his time. I think that time has passed."

Guess you didn't see Blue Jasmine or Midnight in Paris?!