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03/26/09
Bright Lights, Big City (1988)
65
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:17
Fresh:11
Rotten:6
Average Rating:5.6/10
Synopsis: The film adaptation of Jay McInerney's best-selling novel stars Michael J. Fox as yuppie New Yorker Jamie Conway, an aspiring writer whose life has fallen apart: His mother (Dianne Wiest) has died,... [More]
Starring: Michael J. Fox, Kiefer Sutherland, Phoebe Cates, Swoosie Kurtz
Director: James Bridges
Reviews for Bright Lights, Big City
1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Top CriticFlyblown, devoid of pace and heat; it's such a mortician's slab that it's hard to even tell if the Fox performance is wasted on it, though I suspect it is.
11/09/08
truth be told, nothing much happens other than a series of increasingly mortifying benders
06/18/08
No review available.
02/18/07
Pure '80s rock 'n' roll fun from start to finish.
11/02/06
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06/24/06
Top CriticNo review available.
06/15/05
muddled but engaging
09/19/04
Even when the story lingers at times, the central character is played so strongly that you can still stay with the film.
08/22/04
No review available.
02/08/04
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05/24/03
Top CriticMr. Bridges may not have breathed fire into this material, but he has preserved most of its better qualities. He has treated it with intelligence, respect and no undue reverence, assembling a coherent film that resists any hint of exploitation.
05/20/03
Top CriticThis slice of New York yuppie angst is watchable, but forgettable.
03/19/03
No review available.
07/30/02
Not unlike its cousin, "Less Than Zero," this one's slick, well-acted, surface-deep, and enjoyably disturbing.
07/27/02
There is no question that this is Fox's film, and the range of emotion he shows, the edginess that he brings to the role will doubtless surprise those who think of him strictly as Alex P. Keaton or Marty McFly.
01/01/00
Along the gruesome road to self-discovery, Bright Lights offers some entertaining, episodic, danceable highlights.
01/01/00
Top CriticThe movie is like a Porsche outfitted with a lawn mower engine; there's not even enough juice to get the machine out of the driveway.
01/01/00
Top CriticFox is very good in the central role (he has a long drunken monologue that is the best thing he has ever done in a movie).
01/01/00
Top Critic1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Latest News for Bright Lights, Big City
April 03, 2009:
Weekly Ketchup: Sony announces Men in Black III
Right smack in the middle of this week was April Fool's Day, so some stories this week had to be always be viewed with a grain of salt, but there was indeed real movie news. ... More...
April 01, 2009:
MGM Plans Bright Lights, Big City Remake 
MGM has hired "The OC" creator Josh Schwartz to write and direct another adaptation of Jay McInerney's "Bright Lights, Big City." More...
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