Carny (1980)

Too much of everything

Good concept, poorly executed.

A Masterpiece!

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

Frankie (Gary Busey) is a dunk tank clown in a traveling carnival fair. Donna (Jodie Foster) is on a date and falls for Frankie or maybe just the excitement of running away with the circus. She's under-aged but they pretend she's 18. Patch (Robbie Robertson) is his best friend who keeps the circus going patching up the wild unruly group and the little towns they travel through. First Donna starts working as a side girl but Patch sabotages her and it goes badly. Then she works one of the games under Gerta (Meg Foster)'s supervision.The plot meanders and it's hard to see what's the point. The characters aren't compelling. What this movie has is a lot of information about the traveling carnival. Robbie Robertson's low key performance doesn't really help. Gary Busey is holding up his end of the bargain by being a barely restrained clown. Jodie Foster is doing her spunky runaway character. It would be much better if her character is running away from something interesting that drives this movie. The movie kind of meanders and stumbles from one interesting carny scenario to another without really going anywhere.

If this didn't feature Gary Busey or Jodie Foster in it then this could easily be classed as an avant garde film. There is virtually no plot, just a cascade of freaks, fights and sex scenes. I'm not sure if it's any good - it seems unsure whether it wants to be arty or straight forward - but it's certainly interesting. Worth a look.

An older teen girl has a truck-stop clinch with a carnival clown after the fair sweeps through her town; after some persuasion from her lover (and some confounding need to be with him and these show-folk), she joins up with the freakish carnies. A first-rate example of atmosphere over plot, "Carny" is full of characters running around without really doing much; you would think the carny folk would be more than just suspicious of this new kid in their midst--they show no interest in her blonde ordinariness (wouldn't they be as curious of her as she is of them? And IS she curious about their pick-up-and-go lives? The way Jodie Foster plays her, she's just a bored teenager, fettered perhaps but vacuous). I didn't care for the 'plot' as it developed (sneaking in bits of clichéd suspense) nor did I care for Robbie Robertson (glum with heavy lids) as the carnival boss. This picture doesn't add up; it's queasy and awkward, and I felt these faults were absolutely deliberate. The movie is an indifferent freak show, a ghoulish blank. All the characters have false-fronts, but we never get to see what's underneath. The filmmakers seem undecided whom to direct the movie towards without ever consummating their own feelings for the theatrical critters crawling up and down the runways. ** from ****

This may not be a familiar title to many, but for me, "Carny" marks a major turning point in the career of Jodie Foster.In "Carny", she plays a regular young woman who is lured by the excitement of the midway into becoming one of the regular carnival members or, as the title calls them, a carny.This is basically a story about carnival life, the nomadic existance of the carnies and the eventual maturing of Foster's character by this new way of life. Watching her adjustments, both easy and difficult, make it easy to see why she received more difficult roles after this.Robbie Robertson, leader of The Band, plays a fellow carny and love interest for Foster. He is all cool assurance and strong emotional center, both of which are things Foster's character is looking for. It's a wonder Robertson hasn't been in more movies since.Gary Busey, in a performance that is both humorous and borderline psychotic, plays a dunk tank clown that forever taunts patrons, both in and out of the cage. He is also involved with Foster, and finds himself at odds with Robertson over her attentions.If there's one problem with this film it's that it is too brief. More likely than not a filming decision but see it yourself and see if you don't agree.Eight stars.Now, "Carny" is a movie that DESERVES a sequel.