Born 6 years after this film was made, I can't stop watching this movie anytime I see it. I'm 33 years old. Found myself smiling at the end scene. Such a great film with fitting songs, jokes and fantastic dialog. I call my brother Tallulah as a result.The film is timeless and suitable for adults and children to watch, yet still enjoy. When I have kids I will definitely watch this with them. But saying that, I would happily watch this on a Friday night in with a pizza! There is not much to say (IMDb wants at least 10 lines of text). Great cast - I would recommend watching YouTube after to see the actors' and director's views on the movie and what they look like now.A must watch! Timeless masterpiece!

There is no way this movie could be made today. Let me be upfront, there are children in this movie in all the roles, even the flapper girls and cut-throat gangsters. But that's part of the fun and honestly it's amazing to watch as a satirical and funny musical.Bugsy Malone follows the story of a group of individuals trying to make it in the world during the 20s, from a well mannered girl trying to break into show business to a ruthless criminal mastermind trying to take over the criminal underworld. The kicker: they're all played by kids and all the normal gimmicks are played up for fun. Bullets are now whipped creme, the cars are powered by bike pedals, the illicit substances and actions are toned down (such as bootlegging liquor now being sarsaparilla), and all the kids sing their musical numbers about deep or adult content by lip syncing an adult voice.It's a genius idea that never could be reproduced with all the politically correct zealots and fear over child exploitation. And, for me personally, that's what makes it so great. I caught most of this flick as a child and tracked it down over a decade of searching. This is meant to poke fun at the overly gratuitous, violent, sexual, and hyped up movies and musicals at the time, and yet, it still serves the same purpose.With all the fuss over Toddlers and Tiaras, and overblown trash movie experiences, the moral and humor still hold up if not more so now than in the late 70s. This movie is great, not perfect, but still loads of fun. Sit down with your friends or your significant other and have a laugh at a source that knows its target humor and nails it. It's a little difficult to find a copy, it'll run you about $20 online, but it's a decent investment if this sort of thing appeals to you.

Bugsy Malone is that peg which doesn't fit neatly into any hole that you might want to force it into: is it a mobster film? A satire of mobster films? a family-friendly movie with an all-kid cast? Yes, yes, and yes...but still different from anything done before, or since. I have loved Bugsy Malone since I first saw it air on TV in the '80s, and it has held up astonishingly well as the wonderful and bizarre story that I remember.What Bugsy Malone establishes from the opening scene is that this is going to be a story told in old-Hollywood style, about gangsters circa '30s Chicago: except for the fact that every character is played by a child, average age 12 I believe. Other notable changes are the lack of realistic guns, and the "cars" which are pedaled by the drivers. Substituting for the usual violence and gore of gang wars are mobsters throwing cream pies and shooting each other with the newfangled "Splurge guns" which use a gooey marshmallow substance as ammo.Bugsy Malone also has great costumes and sets to recreate the Prohibition Era to scale for the smaller cast. The most memorable part of this movie for me, however, was in the musical numbers that pop in and out seamlessly between the quick lines and quips of the characters -- yes, a perfect tribute to the Golden Age of film when song and dance was the norm. The tunes are catchy and have a way of sticking in the head for days, particularly the closing number (which was recently used in a Coke commerical btw).The kid cast delivers weirdly convincing performances;I had no trouble suspending disbelief, to the point where I got quickly drawn into their charming alternate world. They are also clearly having fun, and it's hard to resist having fun along with them. Especially standout are Bugsy Malone, played by a dewy-cheeked Scott Baio, and snarky dance-hall girl Tallulah, played by Jodie Foster. Special mention goes to Florrie Dugger, the actress portraying Malone's love interest, Blousy Brown, but who inexplicably has nothing else on her IMDb page; I think she really could have had a career in film. The summary message of the movie is driven home at the very end by a grand, silly, fun scene which I won't spoil for you, but the words of that song say it all: We could have been anything we wanted to be, and it's not too late to change. It really left me wondering if Bugsy Malone had been a sendup, a strangely subtle statement against violence (being a literally childish thing), or a lovingly crafted shout out to director Alan Parker's favorite genre of film. All three perhaps? All I can say for certain is that it works, beautifully.

It is a joy to be able to review one of the most lovable movies in history. BUGSY MALONE lingers in memories of childhood, but it is only by seeing it again, MANY years later, that it's greatness is revealed. As a movie buff, and a member of the movie world myself, I am awestruck by the amount of plundering that this film has received , by GREAT directors! Scorsese has been lauded for his use of 'innovative' STOP-FRAME in 'Good Fellas'. Watch the first 3 minutes of Bugsy M. and you will see how Alan Parker was his inspiration. There are pot-shots at Coppola and at old-time movie classics like Scarface (the original entry, not Al Pacino's rendition), but even Sergio Leone's sets and plot are chock full of Malone's inventions. I refer to 'Once upon a time in America' and its childhood hoodlums. Parker is a inconsistent director. His specialty is casting. Many of his films revolve around this aspect of show-business. From Bugsy Malone (the glorious casting scenes reminiscent of Mel Brooks' in The Producers) to 'Fame', to 'The Commitments'. What is rather thin in this movie, as though the money ran out when it came to this stage, is the orchestration of the music. The songs are catchy, and although rather weird (as they are clearly sung by adults), they feel tinny, thin, bare... It's a pity since many stuck with me after only ONE viewing in a cinema in London, many years ago (proof of their catchiness). A special mention must go to young Martin Lev, as the very bad Danny D. He really understood his part to a tee! And WHO didn't fall in love with sultry Talullah! Long live Bugsy Malone. And CHEERS to all involved in a movie which makes me dream of an alternative Hollywood, where ALL films are acted solely by children!