• Alan Parker’s debut and it is a crazy concept- a gangster film with one big twist—all actors under 16, most of them younger- Jodie Foster here at 13 and already a seasoned pro
  • Tongue-in-cheek for sure, again a wild idea. Scott Baio as the titular character
  • A really well-done studio backlot gangster set. Clearly Parker has esteem for the period and genre
  • The music is strong—lip-synched dubbed voices of adults, Academy Award nom for the music
  • Use of freeze frames
  • Smart choice by Parker to have the actors do their performances as straight as possible. It’s already funny- we don’t need them trying to be funny
  • Foster’s character is a little like an old Jean Harlow role- or how Madonna played the role in Dick Tracy
  • Anyone calling this a masterpiece is out of their mind though—even at 93 minutes it runs a little thin— one can only take so many pies in the face, foot petal cars—I have it in the archives obviously but it is far closer to gimmick than the top 10 of 1976
  • Recommend