Story of movie Bogus Film : Bogus is a 1996 American fantasy film directed by Norman Jewison, written by Alvin Sargent, and starring Whoopi Goldberg, Gérard Depardieu, and Haley Joel Osment. It features magic tricks with magician Whit Haydn as consultant. It did poorly at the box office and Goldberg was nominated for a Razzie Award for her performance. It was filmed in Canada and New Jersey.
| Bogus | |
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| Directed by | Norman Jewison |
| Produced by |
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| Written by | Alvin Sargent |
| Starring |
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| Music by | Marc Shaiman |
| Cinematography | David Watkin |
| Edited by | Stephen E. Rivkin |
Production company |
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| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
Release date |
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Running time | 110 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language |
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| Budget | $25 million |
| Box office | $4.4 million |
Screenplay
A fantasy, it tells the story of seven-year-old Albert Franklin (Haley Joel Osment), the son of a Las Vegas magician's widowed assistant (Nancy Travis). His mother dies suddenly in a car accident and Albert, who is now an orphan, is sent to New Jersey to live with his mother's foster sister, Harriet (Whoopi Goldberg). The plot revolves around Albert, and his imaginary friend named Bogus (Gérard Depardieu), a French magician, who helps the boy cope with his transition. Gradually Harriet, who can also see Bogus, comes to terms with her new situation as well.
- Whoopi Goldberg as Harriet Franklin
- Gérard Depardieu as Bogus
- Haley Joel Osment as Albert Franklin
- Nancy Travis as Lorraine Franklin
- Andrea Martin as Penny
- Denis Mercier as Monsieur Antoine
- Ute Lemper as Babette
- Sheryl Lee Ralph as Ruth Clark
- Al Waxman as School Principal
- Fiona Reid as School Teacher
- Kevin Jackson as Bob Morrison
- Richard Portnow as M. Clay Thrasher
- Stefan Batory as M. Clay Fisher
- Barbara Hamilton as Mrs. Partridge
Although portrayed as Newark, NJ, part of the film was filmed in Van Vorst Park neighborhood of Downtown Jersey City. Apartment building that the character, Harriet lives is at the corner of York Street and Barrow Street is called Madison on the Van Vorst Park.
Bogus opened at #11 in its opening weekend with $1,895,593 and grossed $4,357,406 in the US.
Rotten Tomatoes reports that 40% of 15 surveyed critics gave the film a positive review; the average rating is 4.9/10. Leonard Klady of Variety wrote, "Sweetly sentimental and anachronistically whimsical, Bogus is a modern metaphor oddly out of step with contemporary taste." Janet Maslin of The New York Times wrote, "Jewison lays on the dry ice and special effects without adding emotion to a slow, hackneyed story." Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times rated it 3/4 stars and called it "a charming, inconsequential fantasy" that wisely avoids realism.