MovieChat Forums > A Bronx Tale (1993) Discussion > Ruined by bad acting

Ruined by bad acting

posted 15 years ago by NotMovie
13 replies | jump to latest

Great script, great direction, awesome actors.... almost. Everything in this movie is great up until Calogero becomes 17. After that the movie gets embarrassing to watch. The actor playing Calogero at 17 is HORRIBLE. He only speaks in one tone and has no facial expressions. Its really bad because the kid Calogero is really good and FUNNY. And whats sad is that he really ruins this movie. His dialogue narrates the movie and he sooooooooo boring. Chazz Palminteri was on Jay Leno talking about the play version then at one point he is talking about a movie he made once with a young actor and the young actor was supposed to cry. In this scene he said he was supposed to be slapping him around. Chazz said that he actually had to slap the kid for real to get him to cry. There is not a doubt in my mind that he was talking about the guy playing Calogero in the scene where Sunny is slapping him around because something is wrong with the car. Its sad how close this movie came to being great.

[–] jenniben2000 15 years ago

Wow, I couldn't agree more with you on that. I absolutely loved the movie, except for the older Calogero. Sure he looked good, but he really can't act.

[–] jerseyboynorth 15 years ago

I disagree; I think the actor did a decent job for someone making his debut.

[–] Emmjewels 15 years ago

with you as DeNiro said himself that 'he' wanted an 'unknown' to play the part, and that's what he got in Brancato. Personally, I think he did an 'excellent' job, and really pulled at my heart strings. I feel so very bad at what became of his life after this (and yes, the choices that you make it life can come back to haunt you), and wishes he'd have gotten the help he needed, rather than be a part of the shooting of that police officer. A tragedy for 'everyone' involved.

[–] disco-spider 15 years ago

I just saw the movie again since it was on TV. I agree, he wasn't nearly as bad as people are saying, especially for a debut. If there's a complaint to make, it's his narration. Maybe they should've got rid of it altogether. Or maybe they should've let the younger kid do it.

[–] Ironman54 15 years ago

The thing is,do you want a realistic character or a Hollywood/mid Westerner playing the part the way he thinks kids from the Bron-x should act/talk ? This kid is right off the block. If hes the same in other roles having nothing to do with NY, then yes, hes one dimensional.But for this role,as a native NY'er, I'd say he did pretty damn good.

[–] benighted2005 15 years ago

I don't think it was bad acting that ruined the character but bad company that made him act like a bad seed. Like that scene where he goes to watch the boxing game with his father and how he behaves...Also that scene where he's walking with the girl and he asks her how he's doing. Not bad. I saw the film just yesterday and I don't think he was a bad actor. Just not terrific.

"There. There."

[–] ricky_dry_county 12 years ago

That actor was painfully bad at times[The dialogue delivery].Especially when "Jane" was around.She was a worse actor though[Going with her dialogues before the other person finished]..Actually,more surprising was that the great DeNiro[Director] didn't notice it.If he did,why didn't he do something about it?

[–] ama1286 11 years ago

I just watched the film and agree that the guy playing C at 17 was just really bad. He tarnished what was otherwise a good film.

[–] SteveResin 11 years ago

I thought he did fine. Sure he was no Olivier but the role didn't really require it imo. He was meant to be a trusting soul, quite naiive, and I think he portrayed that well. He was a sweet kid.

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Duty Now For The Future

[–] Balberith 10 years ago

Maybe he was not great but he was not bad either.

"A real man would rather bow down to a strong woman than dominate a weak one"

[–] fanaticita 9 years ago

"C" was just fine. I thought he did well in the film, and his voice was not monotone, and his facial expressions changed throughout the film. Remember, this was directed by De Niro, and surely he would have gotten the best out of the actor who played "C".

[–] pepetoony (1558) 2 months ago

I didn't notice any bad acting from 'older' Calogero but I definitely saw it with Jane! Especially in that scene outside the school. Yikes.

[–] millsey72 (9693) 2 months ago

So you're saying that black women can't act?