Source: Some information on this page may have been sourced as part of the 2023 Wikimedia Australia Partnership Projects grant, with the purpose of improving and expanding the use of Wikidata on our website. Wikidata is a free and open knowledge base that can be read and edited by both humans and machines. Read more about this project here.
When his model wife, Amanda (Phoebe Cates) leaves him, aspiring writer Jamie Conway (Michael J. Fox) plunges into a downward spiral of drugs and alcohol on the Manhattan nightclub scene, ably assisted by his sleazy, yuppie friend Allagash (Kiefer Sutherland). Providing some sort of continuity to dreary days en route to nightly excess is the tabloid story of the plight of a coma baby which parallels Jamie’s fragile existence since his mother died and Amanda left him. With the help of Allagash’s cousin (Michael J. Fox’s wife, Tracy Pollan), a persistent younger brother (Charlie Schlatter), and a well meaning colleague (Swoosie Kurtz), there may be hope for Jamie’s salvation. “Bright lights, big city” is one of Fox’s few attempts to break his comic/Mr Nice Guy persona (“Casualties of war” being another example), and did so to mixed receptions. Based on the book by Jay McInerney.
Content notification
Our collection comprises over 40,000 moving image works, acquired and catalogued between the 1940s and early 2000s. As a result, some items may reflect outdated, offensive and possibly harmful views and opinions. ACMI is working to identify and redress such usages.
Learn more about our collection and our collection policy here. If you come across harmful content on our website that you would like to report, let us know.
How to watch
Stream, rent or buy via
Collection
In ACMI's collection
Credits
Collection metadata
ACMI Identifier
310656
Language
English
Audience classification
R (18+)
Subject categories
Family, Gender Identity, Relationships & Sexuality → Bereavement - Psychological aspects
Family, Gender Identity, Relationships & Sexuality → Interpersonal conflict
Family, Gender Identity, Relationships & Sexuality → Mothers and sons
Feature films → Feature films - United States
Food, Health, Lifestyle, Medicine, Psychology & Safety → Bereavement - Psychological aspects
Food, Health, Lifestyle, Medicine, Psychology & Safety → Burn out (Psychology)
Food, Health, Lifestyle, Medicine, Psychology & Safety → Depression, Mental
Food, Health, Lifestyle, Medicine, Psychology & Safety → Drugs
Food, Health, Lifestyle, Medicine, Psychology & Safety → Drugs - Psychological aspects
Food, Health, Lifestyle, Medicine, Psychology & Safety → Drugs - Side effects
Food, Health, Lifestyle, Medicine, Psychology & Safety → Grief - Psychological aspects
Food, Health, Lifestyle, Medicine, Psychology & Safety → Interpersonal conflict
Food, Health, Lifestyle, Medicine, Psychology & Safety → Peer pressure
Food, Health, Lifestyle, Medicine, Psychology & Safety → Self-actualization (Psychology)
Food, Health, Lifestyle, Medicine, Psychology & Safety → Terminally ill
Literature → American literature - Film and video adaptations
Sound/audio
Sound
Colour
Colour
Holdings
VHS; Access Print (Section 1)