Tired of being a small-town waitress, Donna departs with the latest carnival show, living with entertainers Frankie and Patch in a tense, emotional triangle.
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Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!
So much average
Excellent, Without a doubt!!
It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.
Robbie Robertson a member of the famous roots rock group, The Band sang rural, pastoral country folk/rock with a touch of pessimism.Carny co-written and starring Roberson is a rather plot less and meandering film that needed a better and sharper director. However it carries on the themes of The Band as you enter the world of a travelling carnival in the south filled with strange people, the tallest, shortest, the bearded and the contortionist.Frankie (Gary Busey) is a twisted clown in the carnival, always winding up the punters as he sits on a dunk tank taunting them.Patch (Robbie Robertson) is a fixer at the carnival, he works the dunk tank with Frankie and smooths things over with locals and the carnival operators.Frankie hooks up with Donna (Jodie Foster) a rather bored young woman whose boyfriend Frankie humiliates. She joins Frankie at the circus although Patch is not too pleased about it and she initially works on the strip show before finding out that she is a natural conning the punters on the rigged games of skill.Patch and Frankie have to deal with one of the gangsters who is extorting money from the circus boss and whose henchman takes a shine to Donna.Foster is very sexy, she gives another mature performance and to think she was only 18 years old at the time. Just watch the scene when she hustles two lesbians, very sensual and natural!
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.
This is a really good entertaining movie. This is a dark comedy/drama that looks great on the screen. Not the average fare. Great cast with good acting and direction. Pretty bizarre and a good role for Jodie Foster. A real sleeper worth viewing.
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.