Bonfire of the Vanities
The Bonfire of the Vanities (1990) was based on Tom Wolfe’s book of the same name published in October 1987. (Yes, the very October 1987 in which Wall Street suffered the most cataclysmic one-day crash in its history. Popular culture is unerringly always one step behind the times.) That ode to Reagan-era extravagance unleashed unforgettable phrases like “master of the universe” and “social x-ray” upon the lexicon. Millionaire investor Sherman McCoy, so memorable on the printed page, shriveled in this box office bomb, however. It again starred Melanie Griffith, plus Tom Hanks (post-Big yet pre-big, before he went on to win two Oscars in quick succession), Bruce Willis and an emerging Kim Cattrall. Novel adaptations of the moneyed set are notoriously tricky to pull off on the silver screen; see several not so Great Gatsby’s. Released in a recession, Bonfire gave off an instantly mildewed appearance, suffered from serious production problems and endured a succession of A-listers passing on lead roles. Moreover, literary purists were severely critical of several liberties taken with the plot. Brian DePalma’s brainchild was never going to win Cannes’s coveted Palme d’Or, but perverse consolation arrived in the form of five Golden Raspberry nominations for the worst film of the year. A rainy day rental, at best.
S&P 500 Index that year: down 3.11 percent. Rotten Tomatoes rating: 16 percent.
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