The Cotton Club (1984)

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Shallow uninvolving story about a 1930s jazz club and the broad caricatures who frequent it. Looks good but didn't grip me at all. I was checking the clock constantly due to the slow pace and scattered story. Despite the film's stylish period look and some nice jazz music, it doesn't feel authentic. The characters often seem like parodies of characters from 1930s films rather than wholly formed characters of their own who actually lived in that time. I hesitate to blame this on the actors, who I know are good from other works. This is most likely something that should be blamed on Coppola, who wanted these performances for whatever reason. Sorry I know it has a legendary director attached to it but that by itself doesn't make it a good film. Even the greats have misfires and Coppola had his share. This is one of them.

Richard Gere is a trumpet and piano player who is hired by the famous gangster Dutch Schultz to provide some music at parties and to squire around Dutch's girl friend, Diane Lane, when Dutch is busy browbeating and killing people elsewhere. Gere and Lane fall for each other. Complications ensue. There is a sub plot involving alienation between Gregory Hines and his brother, a duo tap-dancing act, and they finally make up. The plot centers around -- or whirls around -- the Cotton Club, a fashionable night club in Harlem in which talented African-Americans provided entertainment for rich white couples and celebrities.Frankly, I found myself confused about some of the turns in the plot. The one thing I was able to keep straight is that all the murderers and thick-necked traitorous goons were white, while the black folk were all good. Dutch Schultz (James Remar) is particularly contemptible. The guy has no sense of humor. He's always scowling. And he gives too many orders like, "Get me a cigar," and "Tie my shoes," and "Where is my garter belt?" After a scuffle with Richard Gere and Gregory Hines in The Cotton Club, he and his sour henchmen drive to The Palace Chop House in Newark, New Jersey, where they are shot to pieces by a rival gang. I was honestly glad to see Schultz get it. With Newark the way it is today, I don't think he'd have made it as far as the chop house.The Cotton Club was famous, really famous, and Harlem was aboom in the 1920s and part of the 30s. Duke Ellington played there, Fletcher Henderson, Cab Calloway, everybody who was anybody. It was called "going slumming" and was a must-visit for movie stars. An unrecognizable Diane Venora plays Gloria Swanson, who gets Gere a job as an actor in a Hollywood movie.How does is the Cotton Club's entertainment fitted into the movie? Not so neatly. There are some great performers, including "Honey" Coles, and Coppola lets the camera roll while they do their stuff -- once in a while, for two or three numbers. But he makes the same mistake he made with Fred Astaire in "Finian's Rainbow." Too often he cuts directly from a dancer's upper torso to a close up of the dancer's feet. And the cuts are too fast to allow the audience to appreciate what's going on. And there is a LOT going on during a well-choreographed dance, with the performer's whole body involved. I can say this with some certainty because I studied dance and, after a good deal of effort, found that, as a dancer, I had all the finely honed skills of a performing seal. It really puzzled me. I asked myself, "Self, what the hell is wrong with your kinetic sense?", but the answer was a confusing explanation of myoneural plates and I gave up trying to understand. Some people have it. Some don't.Richard Gere is the central figure and he does all right by the role. He's edgier and more impulsive than ever, which is saying a lot. When he gets the proper role, Gere can do it to death, although I must say I found him no more than adequate as my supporting player in the poetic masterpiece, "No Mercy." I had to carry the kid through the whole picture by giving him sound advice like, "Just say your lines and make sure you don't look at the camera". And, I swear, whoever dubbed his trumpet solos couldn't find anything inventive in the subdued variations on the melodic theme. Listen to Gere's solos and then listen to a CD of Bix Beiderbecke or Louis Armstrong.

Everyone knows Francis Ford Coppola is a master filmmaker. His 1984 film, "The Cotton Club," centers on events at the famous Harlem nightclub during the late 20s and early 30s. The club was a "whites only" establishment but ironically utilized mostly black entertainers.PLOT: As musician Dixie Dwyer (Richard Gere) starts chumming around with mobsters in order to advance his career, he slowly gets involved with the young moll (Diane Lane) of a snarling gangster (James Remar) and eventually becomes a Hollywood actor with the help of the club's owner (Bob Hoshkins). Meanwhile a black entertainer at the club, Sandman Williams (Gregory Hines), gets involved with a half-black singer (Lonette McKee), who sometimes passes herself off as white for convenience and career. Also on hand are Nicholas Cage as Dwyer's brother, who gets mixed up with the mob and becomes a public enemy, and the hulking Fred Gwynne as the club owner's right-hand man.To be expected, there's quite a bit of mob nastiness, but it's nicely balanced out by the music & entertainment. While I'm not a big fan of the music of that period, there are a couple of numbers that really impressed me, including one by McKee's character. The gangster shenanigans are also balanced out by quite a few other aspects, particularly the fact that the film has heart. In short, despite being mainly a mobster movie with a huge side of song & dance, there's some warmth here and there. Also, it's nice to see Fred Gwynne play someone other than Herman Munster.FINAL WORD: I was mainly interested in "The Cotton Club" because of Coppola's genius and the film's infamous production. In addition, the movie's a great way to sort of go back in time to the Prohibition-era and get a taste of what it was like, Hollywoodized and overdone though it may be.The film was shot in New York City and runs 2 hours 7 minutes.GRADE: B

Dixie Dwyer is a jazz musician who begins working with mobsters to advance his career.Then he goes and falls for Vera Cicero, the girlfriend of the famous Jewish gangster, Dutch Schultz.He eventually becomes a Hollywood film star.His younger brother Vincent becomes a gangster in Schultz' mob.The Cotton Club (1984) is directed by Francis Ford Coppola.It's produced by the 80-year old producer Robert Evans.In the writing team there were Coppola and Mario Puzo, writer of The Godfather novel.The movie was a flop, even though everybody had great expectations for it.Richard Gere does very good job in the lead.The part was originally offered for Sylvester Stallone, who turned it down.Coppola's nephew Nicholas Cage is great as Vincent Dwyer.Diane Lane is fantastic as Vera.The great late Gregory Hines is terrific as the dancer Sandman Williams.Lonette McKee is wonderful as his girl Lila Rose Oliver.Gregory's brother Maurice Hines is great as his film brother Clay.Her character is loosely based on Lena Horne.Bob Hoskins is brilliant as the mobster and club owner Owney Madden.Fred Gwynne is one of the kind as his right-hand man Frenchy Demange.James Remar plays Dutch Schultz and he does it with style.Great job by Allen Garfield, who plays Abbadabba Berman.Laurence Fishburne is very good as Bumpy Rhodes.Musician Tom Waits plays Irving Starck.Jennifer Grey portrays Patsy Dwyer.Diane Venora is Gloria Swanson.Bill Cobbs is Big Joe Ison.Woody Strode portrays Holmes.Robert Earl Jones is Stage Door Joe.The young Sofia Coppola is seen as Child in Street.Mario Van Peebles is Dancer.This movie is better than its reputation.It does give a good portrayal of the 1930's.The movie has got some good scenes.The drive-by shooting, where Vincent and his men accidentally kill the kid, is one of them.And so is where Vincent is shot by Schultz' men in a drugstore telephone booth.Coppola did a fine job.The result may not be a masterpiece, but a good movie anyway.