bonfire of the vanity be a film drench in flop sweat . i can recall no film that have try so hard to be so unrelentingly outrageous and provocative and important and yet fail so consistently across the board . it be like a stand up comic who not get laugh and but can not leave the stage . the hard the film try and the louder each attempt at a laugh result in a resounding thud . the desperation the film display be so glare it almost rouse pity for all those involve . the film achieve laugh out loud status only twice . once be in the sight of geraldo rivera play an obnoxious and arrogant and amoral tv tabloid journalist which be funny only because he apparently doesn not realize he be play himself . the other scene that deserve to be laugh at be the film final big moment and wherein the judge play by morgan freeman deliver the sanctimonious lecture about what morality be ( it what your mama teach ya . ) . the pomposity of the moment be insult to the point of be absurd . yet and one must admit it be a noble effort . it do have a good and if poorly cast and band of actor and who try to make character out of cardboard thin caricature . the film look professionally make and the little cinematic flourish that director brian depalma just love be apparent and if not particularly effective . but the film and which apparently wish to be a commentary on modern moral and ethic and never arises above the level of cartoon . satire require style . farce require energy . even sitcom require time . but the best bonfire can muster be desperation . in the end and you do not want to laugh and you just want to turn away .