`Bogus' entertains, but is a little bit too hokey

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RATING: * *

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by Noelle Berryman

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Everyone's tastes inevitably vary on this point, but if you chose the warm fuzzies option, then this is the movie for you.

Bogus is a film about Albert (Haley Joel Osment), a 7-year-old boy who is abruptly transplanted from his home in glitzy Las Vegas to live with his mother's childhood pal, Harriet (Whoopi Goldberg) in New Jersey when his mother, his only family, is killed in a car accident. This movie offers a child actor as its lead. Child actors are, as a rule, generally annoying at best due to their contrived overacting. Osmert is no exception. My vision of him 15 years down the road is of a super-spoiled drug addict akin to Corey Feldman during his smack-shooting years of drunken debauchery.

The film definitely gets off to a slow start, but the animated supporting characters in the first few scenes make the time pass a little more quickly. A magician, dancing showgirls, a midget and more Vegas-like characters show up early in the movie as Albert's friends through his mother.

"OK," I thought. "So a child grows up in the lights of a Las Vegas casino. I'll buy that. Let's get to the plot here, guys."

His mother dies in a car accident. All right, that was a little bit too Bambi-esque, but I did manage to extend my suspended disbelief for a wee bit longer. It is a good thing I did, too, because just when I thought the movie was a hopeless waste of perfectly good napping time, Bogus (Gerard Depardieu) pops into the scene (literally -- Bogus pops out of a coloring book in an airplane bathroom) as Albert's new best friend. Bogus seems to be the perfect best friend, too -- he is caring, friendly, funny, smart, witty -- but there is one small drawback. Albert's friend exists only in his imagination; he is seen only by the little boy.

The business-savvy Harriet notices early on that this kid whom she has never met before is a little bit different. He always seems to be talking, sometimes even laughing, to himself. Harriet, however, is entirely too busy with her own lonely life to care for Albert or realize the pain he is experiencing. She, of course, cannot see Bogus -- yet. It is only after Harriet comes to grips with her own childhood hang-ups that she allows herself to imagine anything at all.

There is a quite unnecessary scene, but funny nonetheless, in which Harriet envisions herself in a long, flowing white gown ballroom dancing (yes, dancing) with Bogus, a gentle giant of a Frenchman in a white leisure suit.

Another memorable scene occurs shortly after Albert arrives in New Jersey. He bemoans his state to Bogus saying, "I can't live here. If I live here, I'll die."

This may not sound funny, but try to picture a little boy in a bathtub full of Big Bird bubble bath talking to a sympathetic Bogus -- who is squished in at the other end of the tub, fully clothed in a brocade vest, pouf-sleeved shirt and tuxedo pants.

A lot of the scenes are comical, but quite a few stand simply to showcase the cuteness of this 7-year-old budding magician. Even fewer scenes are unpredictable and, sadly, none are thought-provoking. All that aside though, it was an entertaining movie -- for someone up to the age of about 14.

If someone had told me that Depardieu would be cast in a film with Whoopi Goldberg, I would have called them nuts, but, amazingly, their contrasting personalities form hilarious situations as do their obviously mismatched appearances. The director must have had a blast when he choreographed the ballroom dancing dream sequence between the two acknowledged klutzes.

By the end of the movie, Harriet has dropped some of the emotional baggage she has been carrying around most of her life and learns to love and care for Albert. Albert no longer needs his imaginary friend Bogus because he now has an actual guardian, friend and confidant in Harriet.

At the end of the movie, the audiences left wondering what would become of Bogus. He faces the camera and sums up the movie, saying that "his kind" never gets good-byes from the kids they befriend as they are too soon forgotten when a real friend takes their place. Bogus smiles and adds, "By the way, if you need me, I'm available," letting us know that there will always be someone there for you if you need a friend.

True, it's cheesy. Yes, it's fake. But regardless of your age, I defy you to watch this film without leaving with a big case of the warm fuzzies.

This item appeared in the Arts & Entertainment section of the September 20, 1996 issue.

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