Redwarmin This movie is the proof that the world is becoming a sick and dumb place

Kidskycom It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

Loui Blair It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

Billy Ollie Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

moonspinner55 Poet and author Charles Bukowski's autobiographical account of being a destitute drunk in modern-day Los Angeles. Henry Chinaski staggers into bars and willfully gets into fights, rubs everyone the wrong way, but eventually meets a lonely wreck of a woman--a possible kindred spirit, though one without dreams to write about--who needs a man to drink with. Bukowski had mixed feelings about Mickey Rourke's lead portrayal and, indeed, the actor gives a very flamboyant performance that takes some time adjusting to. Rourke is obviously giving director Barbet Schroeder what he wants, but there's a touch of self-amused grandstanding in Rourke's delivery that works against the licking-the-gutters scenario (it's too 'show biz'). Faye Dunaway is excellent in support, and Schroeder's eye for gritty detail is intriguing, but this character portrait seems stretched to the breaking point. Still, one of the highlights of the Cannon Film Group's legacy, although the movie was a box-office disappointment. **1/2 from ****

ssunter Regardless the fact that Mickey Rourke is a great actor in my opinion and appreciate his acting in many movies, he was just not the right person to be in this movie.. If you know nothing about the writer and the lead character of the movie, Charles Bukowski you may like the performance of the actor and praise him. There is a scene in the movie where Charles Bukowski himself sits in the bar drinking his beer and smoking his cigarette staring at his silhouette.. In that scene it is obvious that the movie needed someone more heavy and charismatic at least as much as that man sitting in the bar... Actors should be the exaggerated forms of real people. So it is not a surprise of Charles Bukowski's condemnation of Mickey Rourke's portrayal of him (Chinaski) in the movie.

madiuch I saw Barfly when it was first out not knowing anything about Charles Bukowski. After reading Bukowski and watching him recite some of his work on You-Tube, I gained a renewed appreciation for Mickey's portrayal of Bukowski. He talks like him, acts like him and demonstrates the values of Bukowski. Maybe his best role ever. A truly artful movie - you can almost smell the bar smell - and Bukowski. You can feel the view Bukowski has for the world around him. I'm glad he was able to achieve some of the notoriety in his life before he passed in 1994. This movie is a glimpse into the lifestyle of bar-life and of a man who lived in, knew well and wrote about the underbelly of that life. I can't think of anyone else who could have done a better job than Mickey. Mat Dillon tried in Factotem but he's too pretty to be Bukowski.

Lee Eisenberg It seems that it would be very easy to hate a movie like "Barfly". Focusing on an ugly part of life and containing no redeeming characters, it almost seems impossible to like this movie. But the characters, wretched as they are, do elicit a certain charm. Mickey Rourke is great as pathetic drunk Henry Chinaski, spending his entire life in the bars and getting into fights whenever possible. But I actually liked Faye Dunaway even more as his hubby Wanda Wilcox; she's as pathetic as Henry, but somehow never gives up.So, most of this movie will probably make your stomach turn, but you might end up liking it. Charles Bukowski must be a real loser if this is his life story. Also starring Alice Krige, Jack Nance and Frank Stallone.