It is quite obvious that director Peter Bogdanovich is in love with old movies. It's a shame his love didn't translate well with the making of "Nickelodeon" which tells the story of a group of misfits making movies in its earliest days.
Ryan O'Neal and Burt Reynolds play, respectively, director and star of the movie being made. Bogdanovich makes a crucial mistake with these characters. He plays them as silly comedians who do pratfalls and get into lots of trouble. How much more interesting had they played it straight and let humor derive from the hard work that goes into making movies.
The film has a nice supporting cast but most of these fine actors are wasted (especially Ryan's daughter Tatum who was fresh off of "The Bad News Bears").
There are two terrific scenes that illustrate where Bogdanovich might have been going with this film had he played it a little more straight. The first is when the group comes upon the world premiere of "Birth of a Nation." They watch the film in awe and realize that perhaps they all are capable of far better work. The other is a scene where the group stops at a nickelodeon shop and watch the film they have made. Upon exiting some people recognize Reynolds as the star of the movie they have just watched. They clamor around him wanting to touch him and have his autograph. Thus the movie star is born.
Two great scenes in an otherwise disjointed comedy from a director who should have known better.
Ryan O'Neal and Burt Reynolds play, respectively, director and star of the movie being made. Bogdanovich makes a crucial mistake with these characters. He plays them as silly comedians who do pratfalls and get into lots of trouble. How much more interesting had they played it straight and let humor derive from the hard work that goes into making movies.
The film has a nice supporting cast but most of these fine actors are wasted (especially Ryan's daughter Tatum who was fresh off of "The Bad News Bears").
There are two terrific scenes that illustrate where Bogdanovich might have been going with this film had he played it a little more straight. The first is when the group comes upon the world premiere of "Birth of a Nation." They watch the film in awe and realize that perhaps they all are capable of far better work. The other is a scene where the group stops at a nickelodeon shop and watch the film they have made. Upon exiting some people recognize Reynolds as the star of the movie they have just watched. They clamor around him wanting to touch him and have his autograph. Thus the movie star is born.
Two great scenes in an otherwise disjointed comedy from a director who should have known better.