The Bonfire

Of The Vanities

Bonfire Of The Vanities movie review, stars Tom Hanks & Bruce Willis

The Bonfire Of The Vanities

Brian De Palma's The Bonfire Of The Vanities adapted from Tom Wolfe's best-selling novel of the same name is a delicious satire upon the "Greed is good" mentality of the 1980s...

Tom Wolfe: The Bonfire Of The Vanities novel

"...The novel is an extremely fun read that eviscerates the New York of the 80s, as well as managing to stay relevant in contemporary times. Wolfe's novel peers through the windows of all the social strata to meld an infuriating tale of people pretending to look out for the greater good but only engaging in vicious self-preservation..." Amazon reviewer Edward Aycock

...As such, it's very much a period piece, from fashion through to manners, though, of course, it retains much that's still relevant today.

The Bonfire Of The Vanities trailer

The basic premise is that Fate can turn in one moment and even the highest, those with so much money and power that they're insulated from the rest of Humanity, can come crashing down in the blink of an eye. Conversely, fortunes can move the other way, as when alcoholic no-hoper journalist and our movies' narrator, Peter Fallow (Bruce Willis) stumbles upon...

...Stockbroker Sherman McCoy (Tom Hanks). Sherman's cool as a cucumber, and makes $600 million deals raking in 7 figure commissions, all in a day's work. He's married to perfect hostess ice queen Judy McCoy, (Kim Catrell) but is having a torrid affair with Southern belle, Maria (Melanie Griffith), who's wild, passionate...and entirely self-centered.

One evening, while driving Maria to one of their trysts, Sherman takes the wrong turn off the highway and lands up in a part of the Bronx that looks like war-torn Baghdad. When Sherman gets out to clear some rubble in their way, Maria gets behind the wheel and, panicing at the approach of two seemingly menacing black youths, inadvertantly runs one over, killing him. The other youth, though, remembers the car. That's when sozzled hack Peter Fallow steps in, breaking the story and inadvertantly bringing about his rise and Sherman's downfall.

The Bonfire Of The Vanities bristles with energy and the 5 minute opening shot, a wonderfully staged piece of visual theater has to be seen to be believed. Hanks, Willis & Griffith turn in strong performances (though I can't help feel that Hanks and Griffith were miscast) and Michael Christofer's script does a remarkable job in remodelling Wolfe's novel.

The Bonfire Of The Vanities was pretty much slammed by the critics when it was released, partly for the casting but also because the black comedy didn't go far enough, making Sherman almost likable. I can't disagree...but I still believe it stands up pretty well. In case you haven't ever given this old chestnut the time of day, I'd suggest you check it out, it's really delightfully funny.

The Bonfire Of The Vanities DVD

"...This is the dilemma the critics faced when reviewing this movie. And their problem was--they didn't like either the truth or the political incorrectness of this film. I've lived in New York and the truth of the depiction in this movie rang all too true...I doubt whether such a movie could me made nowadays...So, if you want to enjoy what may be one of your last chances to see politically incorrect truths on film, this is it..." Amazon reviewer Bookloversfriend

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