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.

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!

This is one of those movies that doesn't really have a story, the characters and their lives are the story. If you are ok with that then this is a pretty decent drama. It has the drama, a bit of action, tragedy, romance.

I think this might have been Gary Busy's best performance, Jodie Foster puts in a good one too. All the characters even the non actors (not sure they used real circus folk or not) seemed to do an ok job. It is cheesy and dated but it works. I felt for the characters by the end.

It doesn't really have much of an ending and you kind of don't expect one since it's about the characters and their stories don't really end.

Carny is an interesting low-key film. It doesn't really have much of a plot. It works far more on atmosphere. The story is about a direction-less teenage girl (Jodie Foster) who runs away with the carnival after she meets a clown there. This leads to some friction between the manager and the clown; while later the carnies have to deal with some vicious local officials. As I say, it's not really much of a story and in order to appreciate Carny you need to find something in the feel of the movie.

I guess you could describe the set-up as a love triangle but only to a certain extent, as there really isn't a lot of emotion invested in the romantic side of the story; at the same time, there is a thriller element introduced towards the end and while that was quite good fun, it doesn't really fit all that well and could easily have been omitted. But as I say, the film still makes a mark and that is probably a result of the gritty recreation of carnival life and the good performances underpinning it. Best of the actors is Gary Busey who steals the show in his role as the abusive clown; moreover, the film begins very memorably with close-ups of him applying his clown make-up like it was war paint. In a sense it is, as he is extremely confrontational and goads his audience into throwing balls at him in sheer anger. In fact, the film depicts the carnies in general as primarily fuelled by a desire to fleece whoever enters their lair as they travel from town to town.

Carny is an interesting character-driven mood piece. It definitely falls into the cult movie side of the spectrum, as its unusual setting and dynamics will always mean it'll not appeal to everyone but will definitely connect with quite a few who are lured in to sample its wares.

If this didn't feature Gary Busey or Jodie Foster in it then this could easily be classed as an avant garde film. There is virtually no plot, just a cascade of freaks, fights and sex scenes. I'm not sure if it's any good - it seems unsure whether it wants to be arty or straight forward - but it's certainly interesting. Worth a look.