Kattiera Nana I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Beystiman It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

Borgarkeri A bit overrated, but still an amazing film

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.

mtckoch Bright Lights,Big City is one of Michael J. Fox's better dramatic films, in my opinion. Why? Because we gradually see that while his character,Jamie Conway, seems to be holding it together, he is dying on the inside. We start out at last call at a nightclub, where we learn Jamie's wife left him to model in Paris. As time goes on, we see Jamie fall apart, losing his job, dignity, and nearly his sanity in a desperate, hopeless attempt to keep up appearances and fool everyone around him,and himself, into believing everything is alright. The disjointed feel, repetitive flashbacks, and haunted tone of his actions show the viewer that this is a man who seriously needs help to get out of the hell his life has become. Although it might like this was excessive in response to his wife leaving, in the end, we find out what started all this:his mother's long illness and death. She had died a year before, and the drugs, booze, and work fixation had been Jamie's, destructive, way of denying his pain and grief. I will admit this is a hard movie to watch. However, Fox's portrayal of the dark side of the fast lane and self destruction is excellent. As someone who has lost a parent young, I can say it realistically depicts the true damage that grieving can cause, especially when denied for so long. If you want to see Michael J. Fox in a serious movie, watch this.

g-bodyl Bright Lights, Big City is by all means not an awful film and in fact, it's actually quite interesting. But with the subject material given, the movie should have been better. Despite my holding interest, boring would be a word to accurately describe the movie. Seriously, it seems like the only thing the guy does in the film is snort coke and that grows old fast. But it was interesting to watch a Kansas guy barely holding his own in a big city while struggling mightily with his inner demons.James Bridges film is about a guy named Jamie Conway who is a fact-checker for a huge New York magazine, but at nights he is a convulsive partier with a bad cocaine addiction. He is also struggling with his past as he moved to New York to get away from anything and he is also having problems with his estranged wife who left him as her career exploded.The acting is actually pretty good. This is a good attempt for Michael J. Fox to get rid of his "good-guy" image and I think he mostly succeeds. But by the end, I still sympathized for the guy. There are some good supporting turns by Kiefer Sutherland and Jason Robards here.Overall, I dearly wanted to love this film, but I wasn't able to. I liked the film enough, but I was kind of disappointed at the end result. The movie looks good, makes some good points, and tries to be your typical 80's movie. I should also mention it has a killer soundtrack. But, I guess it wasn't meant to be. It was still interesting and a rather good watch and so I rate this film 7/10.

videorama-759-859391 This is one of my favourite Michael J Fox movies. We really get to see him in a dramatic role, though I hadn't bothered with that turkey, Light Of Day. This refreshingly original film was something totally different totally for me, a hard hitting drama that plays well on screen, though it might of not had the impact, the novel intended. An R rating slapped on, as a few were back in the day, supposedly for drug use, like Fox's bleeding nostril when he does too much coke, didn't make much sense. We see two hot women kissing in a cubicle, when Jamie (Fox) walks in then quickly retreats, spouting a funny response of dialogue, in that great comic timing of his. Could this be another reason. Whatever it is, nothing should of stopped people under 18 from seeing this. Jamie Conway's life is a mess, which he refuses to acknowledge. The first anniversary of his mother's passing is coming up. His beautiful model girlfriend (Cates-really) a heartless b..ch has reappeared in his life, choosing a career over a sunken Jamie. His prim and demanding boss, an editor of a magazine, an old hag, is pushing him to finish an article, where he'd rather be doing drugs, or trying to write that aspiring never to published novel. Also little brother has just popped into town. As an anti drug movie, this one works well. In the face of mishap, loss, whatever, drugs are not the solution, and it doesn't help when you're swayed by slime bag friends. Fox does well, though he's not great. Though really, he's never been as good an actor as people have been led to believe. Shining performances comes from Cates and Sutherland. Robards was fun to watch too, and Wiest was great as always, as Fox's mother, seen in flashbacks, that we're a bit heavily laid on. BLBC is an engrossing, if intriguing drama about young 80's New Yorkers, and the drug and disco scene, and we can't forget the coma baby. The scene with Fox again confronting Cates who says to him in casual tone, "How are ya?" where Fox is just thunderstruck, and crashes back against a transvestite, is probably one of three memorable moments. But Fox fan should like it. Well made drama, that should be viewed time and time again, even for under 18's.

lost-in-limbo I had only watched this film a couple months back, and I just had the urge to watch it again. You know what… if I want to, I could watch it tonight with no hesitation. I don't know why, but "Bright Lights, Big City" simply impressed me. Watching it the second time around, I picked up on a lot symbolic parallels running through the effectively told story on substance abuse / addiction. Not that they weren't noticeable the first time, but on this occasion they simply clicked. Another thing was the staying power of Michael J. Fox's outstanding central performance. He sells it, a multi-facet turn as a character truly lost under the alluring yuppie Manhattan nightlife scene of neon lights, drugs, alcohol and women. One day wasted after another, where it's hard to distinguish the morphing days and what becomes a downward spiral into descent. And why this option to escape personal damage, because he can't handle what's in front of him. Double vodka and lines of coke. Yeah the character forgets his hurt for the time being, but the effect of this culture deadens him from reality and inspirations. This means the problems only boil over. He risks his job (although he doesn't love it), family (who he has pushed away after his mother's death of cancer) and importantly his own well-being. So I guess its not particularly a happy-shinny outing and it isn't suppose to be, despite some periods played for laughs (namely the scenes with David Warrilow and a payback prank that gets out of hand involving a ferret), it remains powerfully confronting in its depiction.Jamie Conway finds himself wasting his days in a banally demanding job, because as an aspiring fiction writer he's completely stuck with writer's block and to make matters worse his model wife (Phoebe Cates) left him to advance her career. No explanation why, just gone. And his mum had died of leukaemia, which still seems to haunt him. So in the dumps, he ends up going out every night with his pal Tad (Kiefer Sutherland) getting hammered to only wake-up to go through the same routine again, but the lifestyle begins to catch-up on him. Where he slowly begins to open up his eyes to what's happening to his life, and its coming up to the one-year anniversary of his mother's death.There's a sub-plot running through the narrative, where it has newspapers and TV news shows reporting on a coma baby, that the mother is having trouble giving birth to. This symbolic insert (where it does have one oddly surreal dream sequence) perceives the manner of how Fox's character lives in a bubble (or coma), not wanting to face or hear about reality at first despite his troubled and bitter mindset and best efforts from those who "really" care for him (especially his scenes involving his brother --- admirably performed by Charlie Schlatter). Also the charming Swoosie Kurtz, plays the character Megan which is Jamie's co-worker who can be seen somewhat a surrogate mother figure for Jamie, especially the way she's always picking up after him and calling him to make sure his awake so he's not late at work. Because he's skating on thin ice with the constant attention of the bosses (exemplary performances by Frances Sternhagen and John Houseman) --- coming in late too often and numerous errors finding its way into his work due to a lack of commitment and drive. Eventually after the frustrating build up (losing job, ex-girlfriend back in town), she is the one that he spills his guts out too. Throughout we get peering flashbacks (namely in the mid-to-latter end) of Jamie talking to his bed-ridden mother (an engagingly vibrant Dianne Wiest), where we learn what's happening to her and then she questions him about his life topics. These moments are movingly done, and when he starts thinking of them it becomes a shock to the system in simply facing the facts. Other than Kurtz's character, the other genuine character to help him was Tad's sister Vicky (warmly performed by Tracy Pollan). What Jamie saw in Vicky was someone who was down-to-earth, where he could naturally be around without the use of drugs to liven the occasion. Around her he felt normal, and there was sincerity to their interactions that he could trust and confide. He's reborn (think of coma baby) after his coming to terms telephone conversation with Vicky and utters a memorable line to Tad. While around his yuppie friends (or bad companions); led by Tad (an excellently suave Keifer Sutherland). They didn't really know each other or really took time out to do so. Whenever together it was a shallow illustration of senseless partying throughout long, lost nights. A fitting Phoebe Cates in what small scenes she does have looks great and creates an interestingly vain character that has you totally hook to why she left Jamie. His jealousy of her success really soars in some sequences. Throughout the whole experience you feel like you're in his shoes or better in his head riding the lows.Director James Bridges moodily stylish and slick handling neatly combines the hustle and bustle of the nightlife NY scene. Directionless at times, but efficient. Surrounding the air is an oozing, bluesy music score, which is perfect at expressing the running emotions. Tightly edited and it's well written by Jay McKiernan (adapting his own novel) making good sense of the witty dilogues and character complexities, despite not entirely being clear with the motivations. Edgy location details were superbly brought across."Bright Lights, Big City" is a contemplative character drama with excellent performances grounding it.