Movie Review - Dick Tracy

Dick Tracy (1990)

Starring Warren Beatty, Charlie Korsmo, Glenne Headley, Al Pacino, and Madonna 

with cameo appearances by Dustin Hoffman, Kathy Bates, Paul Sorvino, James Caan, and Dick van Dyke

Directed by Warren Beatty

Seems like I'm on a streak of childhood memories here, so why not continue with Warren Beatty's 1990 rendition of Dick Tracy.  Utilizing some rather unique comic book flavored art direction, bright and bold costumes, and killer make-up, Beatty has created a retro-looking 1930s comic book on the big screen.  It's unfortunate that the story lags a little bit, lacking the punch and drive one would have liked to really propel this comic gangster storyline.

Things aren't faring so well in Dick Tracy's big city.  Tracy (Warren Beatty) is the town's best police detective, but he's run into some trouble with the city's big crime bosses led by the eccentric Big Boy Caprice (Al Pacino).  When Caprice takes over the Club Ritz, turning into his crime headquarters, Tracy knows there's something awry, but can't quite catch the crooks in the act.  When Tracy tries to convince the club's singer, Breathless Mahoney (Madonna), to squeal on her boss, he gets more than he bargained for with the sultry chanteuse creating a rift between him and his longtime girlfriend Tess (Glenne Headley).

Everything in Dick Tracy is over the top and it's certainly meant to be that way.  Because Beatty pushes everything to the limit, the film's overall "fake" aesthetic works.  Whether it be the outrageous Academy Award-winning make-up or the obviously fake painted backdrops, the visuals here are oftentimes stunning (the film also won an Oscar for Art Direction).  Bold usage of bright colors and nifty camera angles fill the screen with great images.

Unfortunately, the film gets bogged down a bit too much by a slightly convoluted storyline involving the mobster scene and it ends up running about twenty minutes too long.  The flick moves along at a brisk pace for about 45 minutes at which point I can't help but think it began to flounder about feeling the need to simply pad the running time.  A bit better job at editing would have made this movie a true classic.

As it stands now, it's a perfectly adequate comic book movie with some very good performances.  Beatty is slightly wooden as Dick Tracy, but I think that's the point.  Tracy is the upright and straight shooter amidst the world of the crazy mobsters, which includes a zany performance from Al Pacino and a great cameo from Dustin Hoffman as a mumbling goon.  Madonna also fares quite well here and has the opportunity to belt out some sexy songs written by Stephen Sondheim (one of which rounded out this film's trio of Academy Award wins).

Overall, Dick Tracy is worth a watch if you've never seen it before.  And it's a film I wouldn't mind watching again a couple of years in the future.  It's one of those that while I might not seek out, I'd certainly watch it if it popped up on tv.

The RyMickey Rating:  B