Carny is like a documentary inside a film. The movie revolves around the carnies and their day to day operations and personal lives.
Jodie Foster stars as Donna, a bored 18 year old small town waitress who dreams of more excitement. One night while attending the local carnival with her jock boyfriend (played by character actor Craig Wasson), she is singled out in the crowd while her boyfriend is engaging in a game of Dunk The Bozo. The Bozo in question is Frankie,played by Gary Busey, who sits in a dunk tank waiting for the 'marks' (victims of hustlers) to throw the balls that hit the spot so that he falls into the water. There are other hustlers too that each run their own game. Keeping everything under control is Patch,played by legendary guitarist and songwriting musician Robbie Robertson,who as his character's name suggests,patches things over from everything to paying off city officials to organizing plans with the local crime boss.
Problems arise when Frankie tells Patch that Donna will be accompanying them along the circuit. Patch is not pleased and organizes a plan to get Donna out of the picture. A series of mishaps ensue,which Patch blames on Donna. Patch then tries to tell the man running the strip tent that Donna can 'work strong ' meaning take her clothes off rather than be a back up dancer for the strippers,as Donna thinks she will be that evening. A riot breaks out and Patch realizes that he went too far after Donna gets hurt. Further tensions arise when Frankie catches Donna and Patch in flagrante one night. Patch and Frankie are at odds but not for long. A surprise ending rounds out this film but it is left wide open with room for a sequel that didn't ever materialize.
All in all, Carny is a good depiction of the lives of carnival workers and their respective con artist attitudes.

***A runaway girl (Jodie Foster) joins a traveling carnival in Georgia***

Except for a couple of unconvincing parts and an unlikely bit in the last act, “Carny” gives the impression of filmmakers grabbing some cameras and secretly filming at an actual carnival in America.

Gary Busey stars, two years after his breakout with “The Buddy Holly Story.” Meanwhile Robbie Robertson, the former main man of The Band, is effective as the owner/manager of the carnival, who seems to have the weight of the world on his back. Both actors were 35yo during shooting, yet Busey’s character, Frankie, says he’s 25 in the film, although he might really be in his late 20s, even early 30s. Robertson’s character, Patch, seems older, like 40. Speaking of Robertson, he shows his natural gift for acting with his sleepy-eyed coolness and world-weariness. Too bad he only dabbled in the profession.

Something that wouldn’t fly today is the fact that Jodie was 16½ during filming, although her character, Donna, might be as old as 17 (with Frankie dubiously insisting that she’s 18-19 to Patch). While she looks young & cute, she lacks the womanly curves she’d soon develop, as observed in Dennis Hopper’s “Catchfire,” aka “Backtrack.” I should add that Meg Foster is also on hand, with her stunning eyes.

The film is R-rated mostly due to a Girl Show sequence with one painfully long-in-the-tooth dancer performing top-nude and butt-nude. I guess the creators were making a point about the sad predicament of such women: They started performing at carnival Girl Shows in their late teens and this is where they’re at three decades later.

In any case, if you can overlook the questionable elements, the movie is strangely compelling. Anyone who appreciates flicks involving carnivals or circuses, like "Circus of Horrors,” "Roustabout," “Berserk,” "When the Circus Came to Town," “The Funhouse,” “Carnival Magic” or “Water for Elephants” should find something to like.

It runs 1h 46m and was shot late spring/early summer 1979 in Savannah, Georgia.

GRADE: B