"Dick Tracy" *** 1\2 (out of ****)
When Warren Beatty made "Dick Tracy" (1990) it was a perfect movie for a kid like me. One reason was because I was the right age. In 1990 I was seven years old and the movie was marketed towards children. It was also a perfect movie for a kid like me because I grew up with my grandparents and absorbed their culture. I listened to radio programs like "The Lone Ranger", I watched movie serials like "The Green Hornet" (1940) and "The Shadow" (1940) and even knew who Dick Tracy was. I never read the comic strip, created by Chester Gould in 1931, because I never liked comics or comic books but, I did watch the early Dick Tracy movies; "Dick Tracy vs. Cueball" (1946) and "Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome" (1947) - Boris Karloff was in that one.
"Dick Tracy" was released during a time when a lot of comic books and cartoons were being brought to the big screen (sound familiar?). A year prior, Tim Burton directed "Batman" (1989) with Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson, one of the year's most anticipated movies. It was considered too dark though some appreciated the more serious tone. Also released in 1989 was the sequel to "Ghostbusters" (1984), "Ghostbusters 2". The first movie was an "original" concept by Dan Aykroyd but after the release of the movie, a Saturday morning cartoon was created, which meant a sequel would have to be made. In 1990 "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" was also released. It was based on a comic book that was later turned into another Saturday morning cartoon.
Where "Batman" was thought to be too dark and "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" too comical, "Dick Tracy" walks that fine line and finds the perfect balance, making sure the movie has a comic book quality to it with amazing art direction, costume design, breathless cinematography, a colorful cast of characters (most with exaggerated facial features) and cartoon violence. But it also respects its material. Beatty, as the movie's director, plays all of this serious and tries to give the plot some weight. There is great visual artistry to "Dick Tracy" and that is what separates it from other comic book movies (especially the ones made today). Today's comic book movies are dark, brooding and violent. They take the joy and the bright, fun nature of the comics away. "Dick Tracy" wants to retain what makes comics special to a child but also try to make it about people faced with mature problems. For my money, few, if any, comic book movies have come close to this.
"Dick Tracy" was Warren Beatty's third movie as a director coming behind "Heaven Can Wait" (1978) and "Reds" (1981). It may not seem like a subject matter Beatty would be interested in but after you watch it, who else could have played this part? Who else could have directed it and given the movie this look? Maybe Steven Spielberg could have directed it, he was considered for a time, but who else could have starred in the role?
"Dick Tracy" also has one of the greatest acting ensembles ever put together; Warren Beatty, Al Pacino, Dustin Hoffman, Paul Sorvino, Dick Van Dyke, Henry Silva, Charles Durning, Seymour Cassel, James Caan and for pure eye candy, Madonna does her best Marilyn Monroe impression. How many other movies have been able to put together an ensemble like this? All that is missing is Robert De Niro, Gene Hackman and Jack Nicholson.
Like Christopher Nolan's "Batman" movies, Beatty makes "Dick Tracy" a contemporary man. He is weak, flawed and vulnerable. In this movie he is torn between his duty to fight crime and his desire to lead a normal life with the woman he loves, Tess Trueheart (Glenne Headly). In fact much of the movie deals with Tracy torn between two women; the innocent Tess and the more alluring Breathless Mahoney (Madonna). Tess is the one you take home to meet your mother, Breathless is the one you want to keep as your own secret. Which one will Tracy choose? This premise takes up as much screen time as Tracy fighting the city's leading gangster, Big Boy (Al Pacino).
Plot-wise movie is divided in two. One half is a homage to the great gangster films of the 1930s, starring James Cagney and Edward G. Robinson, and part romance. Visually, of course, it is a homage to the Dick Tracy comic strip. The gangster portion of the plot involves two crime bosses, Lips Manlis (Paul Sorvino) and Big Boy, competing over territory. Dick Tracy sees this as his best opportunity to capture Big Boy, especially when Lips goes missing.
Lips used to own a nightclub, where Breathless sang, but now Big Boy is running it. Tracy feels Breathless knows Lips' whereabouts and wants her to testify against Big Boy. If she does this, Tracy will finally be able to take him down. Breathless however won't do it. Her feelings for Tracy get in the way. She is attracted to him and wants a commitment from him. Tracy loves Tess though and doesn't want to hurt her. Tess on the other hand is getting tired of waiting around for Tracy to marry her.
In order to humanize and create sympathy for Tracy, a character called "The Kid" (Charlie Korsmo) is brought in. All we see Tracy do is fight crime and entertain the idea of cheating on Tess. Having Tracy interact with The Kid shows Tracy in a father figure role, making him more appealing to the audience.
The most special thing about "Dick Tracy" is the world it creates. The movie goes to great lengths creating this world. Based on the Chicago landscape, Warren Beatty's team developed new buildings and a new skyline. It almost resembles our world except we see classic cars drive by and the colors are much more vivid. The movie goes out of its way trying to create a cartoon look. Often the background looks animated.
And then you have the makeup used for the villains. Some of the more memorable characters include Mumbles (Dustin Hoffman) whose face is twisted, causing him to mumble when he speaks. There is Flattop (William Forsythe), "Itchy" (Ed O' Ross) and Influence (Henry Silva). Some of these people are barely recognizable.
The movie was nominated for seven Academy Awards and won three; best art direction, best makeup and best song, "Sooner or Later" written by Stephen Sondheim, who wrote all the original songs.
"Dick Tracy" is a visual feast, a splendid blend of a live cartoon that takes its story serious. There is much to enjoy from the acting, the makeup, the cinematography and the costumes. "Dick Tracy" creates a new world for us to marvel at.
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