Carny

Frankie (Gary Busey) and Patch (Robbie Robertson of The Band) are two carnival hustlers traveling from town to town in the South. In one spot Frankie picks up Donna (Jodie Foster), an 18-year old who literally runs away with the circus. Naturally, things tense up between Frankie and Patch as Donna tries to learn the carny lifestyle. Man, back in the day one could make a movie about the life of carnival workers and it didn't have to be profound or condescending. CARNY just tells it like it is, showcasing the carnival folk and their life. What is so interesting about the film (outside of Busey's maniac performance) is how Robert Kaylor deviates from expectations. One would expect Busey and Robertson to fight over who gets the girl but they don't. Instead, they act normal as Foster is the one who gets emotional over it. The supporting cast is incredible and features Tim Thomerson, Kenneth McMillan, Elisha Cook, Jr., Meg Foster and Teddy Wilson.

This may not be a familiar title to many, but for me, "Carny" marks a major turning point in the career of Jodie Foster.

In "Carny", she plays a regular young woman who is lured by the excitement of the midway into becoming one of the regular carnival members or, as the title calls them, a carny.

This is basically a story about carnival life, the nomadic existance of the carnies and the eventual maturing of Foster's character by this new way of life. Watching her adjustments, both easy and difficult, make it easy to see why she received more difficult roles after this.

Robbie Robertson, leader of The Band, plays a fellow carny and love interest for Foster. He is all cool assurance and strong emotional center, both of which are things Foster's character is looking for. It's a wonder Robertson hasn't been in more movies since.

Gary Busey, in a performance that is both humorous and borderline psychotic, plays a dunk tank clown that forever taunts patrons, both in and out of the cage. He is also involved with Foster, and finds himself at odds with Robertson over her attentions.

If there's one problem with this film it's that it is too brief. More likely than not a filming decision but see it yourself and see if you don't agree.

Eight stars.

Now, "Carny" is a movie that DESERVES a sequel.

I saw this in the theater in winter/spring on 1980 -- haven't seen it since (geez, 25 years!) until these showings on the Canadian movie station. a lot more risqué than i remembered it!

it's sure captivating,engrossing, hypnotic, alluring, inviting. jodie's in her young hottie period, and robbie's the eye candy for the girls. he's sort of playing a sequel to The Last Waltz's "it's a god-damn impossible way of life." busey's fabulously enraged and possessed -- pre-wacko period. the music and soundtrack is superb. and GREAT casting. Fred Ward's a great surprise! never seen him give a bad performance.

seems like the most real circus movie i've even. i remember these traveling ferris-wheel freak-show ball-toss circus from my childhood, and it looks exactly as i remember it. (also, Movie Connection! this real traveling midwestern circus is captured briefly in Festival Express, a documentary about a 1970 train trip across Canada with Janis Joplin as Jodie Foster, Rick Danko as Gary Busey, and Robbie Robertson in his other role as a band-leader! :-) i'm certainly not bothered by the "lack of a plot" or whatever people seem to complain about -- a lot of my favorite art is not plot driven. say, Catcher in The Rye, for another young runaway story.

Pull a string! Enjoy the ride!

I have been trying to see 'Carny' for quite some time, and I finally stumbled across an old video tape of it. I don't know if it is now available on DVD, but if not, it should be. It was released at the beginning of the 1980s but is very much a 1970s movie, and fans of that decade will appreciate it. It's very low key and character driven, and nothing all that much happens, but the acting is strong from the three leads - Gary Busey, who has been wasted in bad movies for many years, Jodie Foster in the transitional period from child to adult star, and the biggest surprise of all Robbie Robertson, guitarist and main songwriter with legendary rock'n'rollers The Band. On top of that the supporting cast features an incredible array of character actors that's hard to beat - Elisha Cook Jr, Tim Thomerson, Kenneth McMillan, Meg Foster, Tim Thomerson, Bill McKinney, Bert Remsen, Fred Ward, Woodrow Parfrey and Craig Wasson, the star of Brian De Palma's 'Body Double', just to name the most obvious ones. 'Carny' is an overlooked gem, and deserves some more attention. I really enjoyed it.

Hopefully a cult-classic by now, this '80 beautiful little gem passes muster. Robbie Robertson (who I think produced it) gives a fathomable, realistic performance for a GREAT MUSICIAN, Jodi Foster is wonderful as usual (the main character), and Gary Busey, a couple of years after THE BUDDY HOLLY STORY wipes the floor of the sideshow. A fascinating delving-into slice of "somebody's life" on the road with great supporting characters. An 8 out of 10. Best performance = Gary Busey.

Little-known then, it courses the veins without trapping you into bog-ville for a small flick. Find this one for sure and you won't be disappointed. A jewel!