Plantiana Yawn. Poorly Filmed Snooze Fest.

Ogosmith Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

Jenna Walter The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

Frances Chung Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

snorlax3111984 Pro: 1. Nobody needs to be told that Francis Ford Coppola can make a great gangster film. The feuds between the mobsters is intriguing and the action scenes never fail to excite. The fact that many of the gangsters existed in real life makes it all the more exciting. 2. It's not hard to see why the Cotton Club became so famous with all the great acts we see performing at the club in this movie. My favorite is Cab Calloway performing "Minnie The Moocher".3. African-Americans in "The Godfather" were mostly ignored or scorned. It's great to see them get more focus in "The Cotton Club". The romance between Gregory Hines & Lonette McKee is very sweet. It's a pleasure to see Lawrence Fishburne's gangster "Bumpy" give Caucasian gangsters what they have coming. I was delighted to learn the real-life Bumpy survived to his 60's and died of heart failure when so many gangsters were murdered.4. My favorite moment in the film is when Frenchy destroys Owen Madden's watch just so he can give Owen a new watch. Even hardened criminals can have a heartfelt moment together.5. I can see why Richard Gere and Diane Lane went on to do 2 more movies together. They have nice some real nice chemistry. It doesn't hurt that they both have music talent: Lane does a good cover of "Am I Blue?" and credit to Gere for doing his own coronet solos.6. There's a nice moral to the story: Richard Gere, who favors music and acting over mob violence lives happily ever after while his brother, Nicholas Cage seeks an easy living though mob violence and robbery and lives a very short life (it amuses me that Nicholas Cage is gunned down in The Cotton Club in a phone booth while James Caan was gunned down in The Godfather at a toll booth). It's similar with Gregory Hines. He wanted to kill Big Mike for his cruel treatment but Bumpy tells him his ticket to a better life is his tap dancing. Good think Gregory Hines is able to listen to reason and things end up well for him.7. Best Line Bumpy: This uppity (n-word) would like to offer you a drink (dunks Big Mike's head in a toilet bowl)Cons 1. Mostly, this movie does a great job of not appearing to be a Godfather rip-off except for one thing. This movie has two montages of mob violence, one while Lonette McKee sings "Ill WInd Go Away" and another while Gregory Hines tap dances. It's hard to see this and not think of the mob violence montage set to piano music in The Godfather. The first montage of mob violence with Lonette McKee especially resembles the montage in The Godfather with the use of newspaper headlines.2. What was the point of giving Nicholas Cage's character a fiancé? She never really serves any purpose to the story. I don't remember if we even see her reacting to Mad Dog's death.

Mr-Fusion "The Cotton Club" deserves all manner of praise for its lavish production values and recreation of prohibition-ear Harlem. The sets, the costumes, even the cast. Such set dressing (almost) makes up for the messy narrative and lack of focus. It's not a movie I'll revisit anytime soon, but it's worth a watch just for the soundtrack, musical numbers (that tap-dancing was something) and the laundry list of performers. This was like a who's who of future "Miami Vice" guest stars, not to mention how many actual names are present here. If only the rest of the movie wasn't such a slog.Even still, Bob Hoskins walks away with the whole movie, and such an ability is always worth a look.5/10

cardinalcall Although the script is not the best that could have been written, who cares when you have so many talented dancers, actors, actresses, and performers in a film with lavish costumes and sets. The movie transports the viewer back in time to the Prohibition Era, when gangsters ruled, booze flowed, musicians jammed, and dancers tapped.Don't try to follow the plot: it's not worth the bother. There is something for everyone in this movie: music, dance, violence... even titillating lingerie and costumes for those with fetishes.My favorite scene is that in the Hoofer Club. Filming those old timers dancing was a glorious tribute to their talent, and well worth preserving for future generations. Needless to say, the dance sequences with the Hines brothers were excellent.Try to get past the limitations of the script and enjoy the ambiance of the Jazz Era, gone long ago, leaving us now only with rappers--whom I cannot even understand, thank goodness, and who have no talent in comparison to those performing in this film--and country singers, who are anything but country folk.

Petri Pelkonen 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.