richieandsam
I quite liked it... I had never seen anything about this movie before it came on TV. I just read that it had Whoopi Goldberg in it, and I am a fan of hers.The movie is about a little boy, named Albert who loses his mother in a car wreck. He has to go and live with his mothers foster sister (played by Whoopi) who knows absolutely nothing about children. So the kid gets an imaginary friend.The film is sad in places... i felt sorry for Albert. Haley Joel Osment played Albert... his work was not very convincing in parts of the movie. But then it is so hard to find a good child actor. I think I can name only 2 really great child actors. (Maisie Williams & Dakota Fanning)Whoopi Goldberg is a brilliant actress and she does another great job in this. I think she is one of the best actresses in America. I loved her in the Sister Act movies, Ghost, Made in America and Burglar... but my favourite film of hers is Jumpin' Jack Flash. Her character is a career driven person who does not have the time for kids. Whoopi was convincing and I felt sorry for her through the movie because she really was thrown in the deep end really by having this boy dumped in her lap.Gerard Depardieu plays the imaginary friend named Bogus. He also did a good job. He was funny in places and really believable that he cares.I don't really have anything bad to say about this movie, except maybe Haley wasn't very good at certain points.The story was good. It made me smile and made me feel sad in places.A good movie... I will give this 7 out of 10. I hope to see Whoopi back in a blockbuster where she belongs very soon.For more of my reviews, please check out my Facebook page:http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ordinary-Person-Movie- Reviews/456572047728204?ref=hl
TheLittleSongbird
There have been critics that dismiss Bogus as overly-sentimental cods wallop, but after seeing it for myself I actually disagree. While sometimes univolving in terms of story, this fantasy film about a young lonely orphaned boy befriending a seemingly-imaginary man never fails to be pleasant and charming. It is beautifully filmed, with lush cinematography and lovely scenery. And I liked the music as well. The direction is pretty solid, and there are some very poignant moments. The performances are not at all bad, Haley Joel Osment undoubtedly gives the strongest one of the lot, while looking extremely cute he does convince in the delivery of his lines and in his face. Gerard Depardieu gives a very pleasant and whimsical characterisation as the imaginary friend, however if his character was perhaps more complex he would've been more memorable. Whoopi Goldberg gives her usual standard of performance, a woman with attitude, yet with a soft side to her, and that is exactly what her character Harriet is like. However, the film while nicely performed and meaning well, is weighed down by an uninvolving story and a sometimes weak script. And there are some problems with the pace, I found the middle half rather slow for my liking. All in all, undemanding but pleasant and charming, and in some ways misunderstood too. 7/10 Bethany Cox
greenheart
Let's talk child actors. There have been many over the last century, Mickey Rooney, Shirley Temple are possibly the best known and most successful. Others like McCauley Culkin were in the right place at the right time and couldn't make the transition to adult movies. I put Haley Joel Osment right up near the top of the tree. He went on to be brilliant in Sixth sense & extremely good in A.I. He is also the best thing about this movie. He has a wonderful ability to act with his eyes, this makes his performances so much more credible. This movie has some humorous moments, but is actually rather sad & full of people searching but not finding their goal. Whoopi Goldberg didn't really add a dimension to performances we've seen dozens of times from her and Gerard Depardieu was OK but unspectacular. There's definitely a message in this movie and the whole topic of imaginary friends is a fascinating topic to explore. I'm not sure that this movie managed to hit the mark, mainly due to the disruptive and slightly confusing on occasions use of flashbacks & fantasy.
speedny7
"Bogus" is seriously one of the worst movies I've ever seen. Whoopi Goldberg once again proves to be one of the poorest actresses of our time. The dialogue between her and Gerard Depardieu (who also can't act) attempts to be witty and funny, but it just sounds like contrived garbage. Please do yourself a favor and avoid the movie "Bogus". Luckily, I'm sure that most people did, otherwise I'd hear more complaining about what a horrible movie it is.
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