Bright Lights, Big City (1988)

A disillusioned young writer living in New York City turns to drugs and drinking to block out the memories of his dead mother and estranged wife.

Director:

James Bridges

Writers:

Jay McInerney (novel), Jay McInerney (screenplay)

Stars:

Michael J. Fox, Kiefer Sutherland, Phoebe Cates

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Michael J. Fox	...	Jamie Conway
Kiefer Sutherland	...	Tad Allagash
Phoebe Cates	...	Amanda
Swoosie Kurtz	...	Megan
Frances Sternhagen	...	Clara
Tracy Pollan	...	Vicky
John Houseman	...	Mr. Vogel
Charlie Schlatter	...	Michael
David Warrilow	...	Rittenhouse
Dianne Wiest	...	Mother
Alec Mapa	...	Yasu Wade
William Hickey	...	Ferret Man
Gina Belafonte	...	Kathy
Sam Robards	...	Rich Vanier
Bernard Zette	...	Stevie (as Zette)

Storyline

A young kid from Kansas moves to New York to work on a magazine. He gets caught up in the world of drink and drugs, and starts a steady decline. The only hope is the cousin of one of his drinking partners, can she pull him through it ?

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Plot Keywords:

magazine | writer | fashion show | estranged wife | dead mother | 

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Taglines:

All that glitters is not gold.

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA Japan

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 April 1988 (USA)

Also Known As:

As Mil Luzes de Nova Iorque

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$25,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$16,118,077 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

CST Telecommunications, Mirage

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (DuArt)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Before the role was handed to Fox, casting was about to hire a man working in Tiffanys in NYC named Chris Salales and wanted to make him the star role without knowing him or any prior experience.

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Goofs

During Jamie's story of his relationship with Amanda to Megan his wineglass goes from half-full to empty in less than two seconds, while he's speaking.

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Quotes

Tad Allagash: [reads paper in typewriter] Yeah! "Dead Amanda"! I told ya, you get more nookie than you can shake a fucking stick at if you just told people your wife was dead.

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Connections

Referenced in Mystery Science Theater 3000: Being from Another Planet (1992)

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Soundtracks

"Divine Emotions"
Performed by Narada
Courtesy of Reprise Records
By Arrangement with Warner Special Products
Produced by Narada Michael Walden
Additional Production by Shep Pettibone
Words & Music by Narada Michael Walden & Jeffrey Cohen

User Reviews

Under-rated

This is a good, although not great, movie that often gets a lower rating than it deserves. All the actors fill their roles perfectly, especially Keifer Sutherland. The problem is it occasionally tries to be funny (or something?), which doesn't mesh with the rest of the film. Two guys getting attacked by a ferret is not very funny anyhow, unless they are Bill Murray and Jim Carrey. Ignore the parts that try to be funny and you will find this movie much more enjoyable.