Delayed Reaction: Bugsy

What I Guessed It Was About: Warren Beatty plays Bugsy Siegel during some part of his life. Probably the end, given Beatty's age and the age of Siegel when he died.

How I Came Into It: I'm not that big of a Warren Beatty fan, to the point that I don't get why he's such a big deal. Ishtar with the highest grossing movie the weekend I was born, so we are kindred spirits in a way. Bugsy got all kinds of Oscar nominations, so it was at least considered a quality movie in its time. That would be a more comforting thought if it wasn't the same year that The Prince of Tides somehow got nominated.

Why I Saw It: (Club 50) I don't know a lot about Bugsy Siegel, but the idea of the movie is that he's a big personality and Beatty is the right guy to play that. I forget how much I like Annette Benning. It's nice (and not surprising) to see her show up. Elliott Gould's brief role reminded me that I really need to go back and watch some of the movies from his heyday.

Why I Wish I Hadn't: I really feel like this focused on the less interesting parts of Siegel's life. He's already a legend when the movie starts and it ends up being about him making a Las Vegas resort. This is the part of his life that hasn't been covered in a dozen movies before, sure, but I get an idea of why other people haven't made movies about this. Too often, this was Goodfellas Lite.

Verdict (?): Weakly Don't Recommend