HOLLYWOOD ENDING
For cinephiles and Woody Allen fans only - otherwise slim pickings!
2-1/2 stars (out of 4) [(2002)USA/PG-13]- (1 hr. 52 min.)
Written & directed by Woody Allen
Lead Characters/Cast
Val Waxman - Woody Allen
Ellie - Tea Leoni
Lori - Debra Messing
Review:
Director Woody Allen once stated that the perfect comedy should be no longer than approximately 90 minutes. Needless to say, this latest effort fails both that 'formula' and a few other comedic rules, too.
There are long stretches of this film filled with feeble one-liners, and of course there also a few moments (too few) when the jokes are so good they make you laugh out loud.
Satirizing the Hollywood film industry would seem to be an easy task for an independent outsider like Woody, but judging from the scenes in this film he may be more outside the loop than even he realized.
Normally I discount Woody's 'acting' ability in his films because he usually plays a version of himself, the intellectual cynical comic, but here he plays a 'blind' director and I can easily say it is the worst characterization of blindness that I have ever seen (intentional or otherwise, blind people should be happy they can't see this performance).
Woody stocks the film with his normal roster of stellar talent, but for the most they are all wasted as the film centers mostly on Woody's shenanigans.
Even Woodman fans should wait till this one hits the rental bins!
Supporting cast:
Ed - George Hamilton
Al Hack - Mark Rydell
Sharon Bates - Tiffani Thiessen
Hal - Treat Williams
Cameraman - Lu Yu
Translator - Barney Cheng
Elio Sebastian - Isaac Mizrahi
Alexandra - Marian Seldes
Andrea Ford - Jodie Markell
Psychiatrist - Peter Gerety
Assistant Director - Greg Mottola
Tony Waxman - Mark Webber
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