DeVera Marcus Movies

Bugsy is a character study of mobster Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel wrapped up in a gangster movie. Siegel (Warren Beatty in a flashy performance) arrives in California in the Forties, assigned to oversee the L.A. rackets. He is quickly seduced by both the glamour of Hollywood and actress Virginia Hill (Annette Bening), whom he romances despite being unable to leave his wife and children. Siegel soon has a vision to transform a barren stretch of Nevada desert into an oasis of gambling and entertainment -- the seeds from which Las Vegas was sown. Funded by his gangster bosses, including Meyer Lansky (Ben Kingsley), the flamboyant Siegel sees his budget soar past its original $6 million, a problem compounded by the fact that Virginia has embezzled $2 million of it. In trouble with his superiors, Siegel flies back to L.A. to face the music, telling Virginia to keep the money. He would not live to see his dream of Las Vegas come true. The film is fast-paced and well-directed by Barry Levinson, with an intelligent script by James Toback and excellent support from Kingsley and Harvey Keitel as gangster Mickey Cohen. ~ Don Kaye, Rovi

The abysmal teen comedy Joy of Sex is stripped down to just sex in every line and in every joke except where other bodily functions come into play. Alan (Cameron Dye) lusts after Leslie (Michelle Meyrink), whose father is a phys ed instructor with the heart of an army drill sargent and no tolerance for Alan -- though Alan is willing to go through almost anything to win Leslie's interest. As this love quest is going on, an undercover agent is out to make a major drug bust at the high school where these teens endure classes -- and some kind of a nut is gluing up odd objects in strange places at school. The bad dialogue is unfortunately matched by continuity gaffs (someone at a motel knocks down the door of room 302 to barge in on a couple in room 319) and other problems, making this a sure loser compared to the book of the same name, which has nothing to do with this movie. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

Jill Clayburgh plays, as one character calls her, "a pill-popping dingbat" in this film adaptation of television producer Barbara Gordon's autobiographical account of her addiction to prescription drugs. Clayburgh plays Gordon in the film as a successful television documentary filmmaker whose mounting pressures force her to pop a Valium or two for nerves. She then ingests a few more pills after an argument with boyfriend Derek Bauer (Nicol Williamson). And thus begins her slow and steady compulsion to keep taking more and more Valium. Finally realizing her addiction, Gordon makes a disastrous attempt to go cold turkey but fails miserably, finally having to undergo a painful rehabilitation in an institution. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi