Film Review: What Just Happened?Sometimes diverting black comedy about a big producer in big trouble is undermined by the example of bad taste that plagues the film within this film.Sept 29, 2008, 01:30 PM ET
The generally icky post-Sundance buzz on What Just Happened?
provoked in many a “What happened?” curiosity regarding such a
promising project. (Trashing Hollywood? Gotta love it!) There are
the film’s three Oscar winners—director Barry Levinson, star Robert
De Niro, and always-worth-the-detour Sean Penn. There was also the
promise of a delicious fly-on-the-wall look at Hollywood from
insider Art Linson, who wrote the script based on his popular
Hollywood memoir. And the production company (along with backer
2929 Entertainment) is the usually savvy, well-entrenched Tribeca
Productions, the partnership of De Niro and Jane Rosenthal. But no
outside distribution deal emerged from Sundance, so the film moves
into the marketplace self-distributed. (Magnolia is one of 2929’s
units.)
The good news is that What Just Happened? is more fun than the buzz suggested. The confounding news is that the real-life filmmakers fall into the very same trap that their on-screen filmmaker does—putting truly distasteful material into their work. Director Barry Levinson twists a major thread in the story here about big Hollywood producer Ben (Robert De Niro) saddled with Fiercely, a turkey that bombs with preview audiences because of a horrible end scene in which a noble dog is shot in the head point-blank. The off-putting act is seen several times, and it’s a good bet that many will be disgusted by the filmmakers’ choice. Happily, there’s much more to author/screenwriter/producer Linson’s skewering of the Biz as malpracticed in bottom-line-dominated Hollywood. The story kicks off with Ben about to be placed in a Vanity Fair photo group shot honoring Hollywood’s power players. Coveted good placement in the frame counts for a lot in the world of entertainment, but Ben is suddenly endangered among this privileged species when Fiercely, an action yarn starring Sean Penn (playing himself), tests poorly. Tough studio boss Lou Tarnow (Catherine Keener) wants a re-edit to spare the dog. But substance-addicted, egotistical Brit director Jeremy Brunell (Michael Wincott), doing a runner-up Keith Richards (Johnny Depp holds the crown), is adamant about not changing his ending. He stands firm: Hound, not hero, takes the bullet. As Ben battles Jeremy, he also has a handful in Bruce Willis (also appearing as himself), the arrogant star of his next film, who refuses to shave his beard and thereby lose that Rob Reiner look. Of no help is Willis’ agent Dick (John Turturro), a wimpy kiss-ass to clients and with a sensitive stomach that attests to his angst. Pressure for Ben also comes from big-deal screenwriter Scott Solomon (Stanley Tucci), who happens to be hitting on and probably shtupping Ben’s beloved ex-wife Kelly (Robin Wright Penn). Ben also sweats over his spoiled 17-year-old daughter Zoe (Kristen Stewart), who, he learns, has been more-than-innocent gal-pal to a middle-aged top agent who recently committed suicide. While coping with these assorted crises, Ben joins in with some sleazy Middle Eastern womanizers, new-money guys whose real-life incarnations will be apparent to many. Ben’s big showdown is at Cannes, where Fiercely is finally screened. But has Jeremy supplied the ending? While Levinson in Wag the Dog, armed with David Mamet and Hilary Henkin’s script, showed he could deftly, wittily handle Hollywood foibles, here he fumbles and comes undone by the very thing that undoes the film within the film. Talk about paradox: Your lesson is right there front and center in your film, so where was your attention? What Just Happened?’s tag line is “In Hollywood everyone can hear you scream.” But the filmmakers, missing the wagging tail, didn’t hear their dog bark. Film Review: What Just Happened?Sometimes diverting black comedy about a big producer in big trouble is undermined by the example of bad taste that plagues the film within this film.Sept 29, 2008, 01:30 PM ET
The generally icky post-Sundance buzz on What Just Happened? provoked in many a “What happened?” curiosity regarding such a promising project. (Trashing Hollywood? Gotta love it!) There are the film’s three Oscar winners—director Barry Levinson, star Robert De Niro, and always-worth-the-detour Sean Penn. There was also the promise of a delicious fly-on-the-wall look at Hollywood from insider Art Linson, who wrote the script based on his popular Hollywood memoir. And the production company (along with backer 2929 Entertainment) is the usually savvy, well-entrenched Tribeca Productions, the partnership of De Niro and Jane Rosenthal. But no outside distribution deal emerged from Sundance, so the film moves into the marketplace self-distributed. (Magnolia is one of 2929’s units.)
The good news is that What Just Happened? is more fun than the buzz suggested. The confounding news is that the real-life filmmakers fall into the very same trap that their on-screen filmmaker does—putting truly distasteful material into their work. Director Barry Levinson twists a major thread in the story here about big Hollywood producer Ben (Robert De Niro) saddled with Fiercely, a turkey that bombs with preview audiences because of a horrible end scene in which a noble dog is shot in the head point-blank. The off-putting act is seen several times, and it’s a good bet that many will be disgusted by the filmmakers’ choice. Happily, there’s much more to author/screenwriter/producer Linson’s skewering of the Biz as malpracticed in bottom-line-dominated Hollywood. The story kicks off with Ben about to be placed in a Vanity Fair photo group shot honoring Hollywood’s power players. Coveted good placement in the frame counts for a lot in the world of entertainment, but Ben is suddenly endangered among this privileged species when Fiercely, an action yarn starring Sean Penn (playing himself), tests poorly. Tough studio boss Lou Tarnow (Catherine Keener) wants a re-edit to spare the dog. But substance-addicted, egotistical Brit director Jeremy Brunell (Michael Wincott), doing a runner-up Keith Richards (Johnny Depp holds the crown), is adamant about not changing his ending. He stands firm: Hound, not hero, takes the bullet. As Ben battles Jeremy, he also has a handful in Bruce Willis (also appearing as himself), the arrogant star of his next film, who refuses to shave his beard and thereby lose that Rob Reiner look. Of no help is Willis’ agent Dick (John Turturro), a wimpy kiss-ass to clients and with a sensitive stomach that attests to his angst. Pressure for Ben also comes from big-deal screenwriter Scott Solomon (Stanley Tucci), who happens to be hitting on and probably shtupping Ben’s beloved ex-wife Kelly (Robin Wright Penn). Ben also sweats over his spoiled 17-year-old daughter Zoe (Kristen Stewart), who, he learns, has been more-than-innocent gal-pal to a middle-aged top agent who recently committed suicide. While coping with these assorted crises, Ben joins in with some sleazy Middle Eastern womanizers, new-money guys whose real-life incarnations will be apparent to many. Ben’s big showdown is at Cannes, where Fiercely is finally screened. But has Jeremy supplied the ending? While Levinson in Wag the Dog, armed with David Mamet and Hilary Henkin’s script, showed he could deftly, wittily handle Hollywood foibles, here he fumbles and comes undone by the very thing that undoes the film within the film. Talk about paradox: Your lesson is right there front and center in your film, so where was your attention? What Just Happened?’s tag line is “In Hollywood everyone can hear you scream.” But the filmmakers, missing the wagging tail, didn’t hear their dog bark.
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