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The Bonfire of the Vanities

Play trailer Poster for The Bonfire of the Vanities R 1990 2h 6m Comedy Drama Romance Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
15% Tomatometer 52 Reviews 26% Popcornmeter 10,000+ Ratings
In this adaptation of the Tom Wolfe novel, powerful Wall Street executive Sherman McCoy (Tom Hanks) is riding with his greedy girlfriend, Maria (Melanie Griffith), when she makes a wrong turn and winds up in the Bronx. There, she runs over a black boy and drives off without reporting it. When alcoholic tabloid reporter Peter Fallow (Bruce Willis) discovers the story, he knows it will be scandalous and riles up New Yorkers with his coverage of the case, which soon goes to trial.
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The Bonfire of the Vanities

The Bonfire of the Vanities

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Critics Consensus

The Bonfire of the Vanities is a vapid adaptation of a thoughtful book, fatally miscast and shorn of the source material's crucial sense of irony. Add it to the pyre of Hollywood's ambitious failures.

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Critics Reviews

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Jay Boyar Orlando Sentinel Jun 28, 2013
3/5
If you're interested in a faithful visual adaptation of Wolfe's novel, be assured that this isn't it. Go to Full Review
Steven Rea Philadelphia Inquirer Jun 28, 2013
1.5/4
What a mess. Go to Full Review
Peter Travers Rolling Stone Jun 28, 2013
On film, Bonfire achieves a consistency of ineptitude rare even in this era of over-inflated cinematic air bags. Go to Full Review
Ernece B. Kelly The Crisis Nov 27, 2023
An exaggerated tone pervades, and it confuses. Go to Full Review
Terry Francis Southern Voice (Atlanta) May 9, 2023
0/4
Destroys the form of the original alright, but it also destroys the book's themes in their entirety. Go to Full Review
Rene Jordan El Nuevo Herald (Miami) Nov 30, 2022
The film is totally deranged. [Full review in Spanish] Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Alberto C @TitoCrespo Oct 18, 2026 It’s hard to understand how such a horrible film could come from a human mind. Unbearable. See more
Mary M @RT21051746 Oct 9, 2026 This film compresses the 650 page novel by Tom Wolfe into a 2 hour film satire, which left out a lot of texture and nuance. The novel skewered every segment of Manhattan culture in the Greed is Good 80's era. The casting of Tom Hanks as a snobbish bond trader was a mistake. They needed a William Hurt or Gary Oldman. Nonetheless, I enjoyed it immensely. If it was remade today as a 6 episode series, it would probably be a big hit. See more
Robert P @Superbad Sep 17, 2026 The Bonfire of the Vanities = a 1.5 star Movie! See more
Gozzoli L @RT53396109 Jul 9, 2026 What's wrong with this movie? That's easy. Everything! Not that he needs it, but I felt very sorry for Tom Hanks. Were movies, cinematography, acting, etc. that bad in the nineties? See more
Edward T @LatvianTomato Jan 21, 2026 This rating is a disgrace, the "politically correct" critics cowardly wrote their reviews. I came to New York from Soviet Union at this time and was stunned by the filthy politics of New York. De Palma genuinely described this era of 1980’s. But who would like to see dirty truth about themselves? See more
Leaburn O @RT35452347 Dec 6, 2025 My favourite ever novel, so it was always going to struggle to impress me when put to film. But….I don’t get the ratings at all. I enjoyed it and thought it was good fun. Ok, so the book is still miles better but the impressive cast here put together a fun satirical version that was really enjoyable. Watched on DVD. See more
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The Bonfire of the Vanities

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Cast & Crew

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Brian De Palma

Director

Tom Hanks

Sherman McCoy

Bruce Willis

Peter Fallow

Melanie Griffith

Maria Ruskin

Kim Cattrall

Judy McCoy

Saul Rubinek

Jed Kramer

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The Bonfire of the Vanities

The Bonfire of the Vanities (1990) The Bonfire of the Vanities (1990) The Bonfire of the Vanities (1990) The Bonfire of the Vanities (1990) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis In this adaptation of the Tom Wolfe novel, powerful Wall Street executive Sherman McCoy (Tom Hanks) is riding with his greedy girlfriend, Maria (Melanie Griffith), when she makes a wrong turn and winds up in the Bronx. There, she runs over a black boy and drives off without reporting it. When alcoholic tabloid reporter Peter Fallow (Bruce Willis) discovers the story, he knows it will be scandalous and riles up New Yorkers with his coverage of the case, which soon goes to trial.
Director
Brian De Palma
Producer
Brian De Palma, Chris Woods
Screenwriter
Michael Cristofer
Production Co
Warner Bros.
Rating
R
Genre
Comedy, Drama, Romance
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
Jul 1, 2007
Runtime
2h 6m
Sound Mix
Surround, Stereo
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