Bogus (film)

Plot

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.

Cast

Filming Location

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.

Release

Bogus opened at #11 in its opening weekend with $1,895,593 and grossed $4,357,406 in the US.

Reception

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.