Review of Hollywood Ending (2002) by Harry W — 10 Nov 2013

Hollywood Ending was a potluck for me because it was the first Woody Allen film I'd seen without knowing anything of it or how critics rated it, because the critical acclaim for Annie Hall and Bullets Over Broadway didn't match up to my expectations.

That was a good move, because I did enjoy Hollywood Ending without having too many problems with it, and finding out that it reviewed mixed reviews I saw it made me feel like I was more likely to understand his films if unsure of their ratings, and I did end up enjoying Hollywood Ending much like various other critics did. I found that it wasn't one of Woody Allen's finest efforts, but for a routine job he made a decent film and it was predominantly him that carried it even though the script is inconsistent in being good and bad. But his direction helped make up for that, and there were some decent laughs in there too.

Woody Allen's performance is where the main appeal comes from, because his signature socially awkward character is on display again in the form of Val Waxman, a film director. It's easy to connect with him and feel his stress as well as get enjoyment out of his comedic line delivery an physicality which really does convince us that he is blind, but without going overboard to remind us every five seconds. He knows his stuff well as an actor, and Hollywood Ending is a good showcase if his talent for doing so.

Tea Leoni gives one of her much more thoughtful performances and her line delivery actually succeeds at convincing us that she is a clever woman. She manages to create a good team with Woody Allen and they share a fine charisma.

Tiffany Thiessen uses her sex appeal as well as her line delivery in her short time on screen in Hollywood Ending, and she reminds us just how sexy a woman she is in her scene where she attempts to seduce Val Waxman. It's a really sensual moment.

Debra Messing was also good because of how she brought over the skills she acquired as an actress on Will and Grace and transitioned them to the cinematic screen well, with moments that her character is really convincing as a serious actress balanced with many that prove she's a comedically ditzy klutz.

But Hollywood Ending is uneasy in how it's plotted and constructed, due in part to the budget cuts.

While Woody Allen is the only man who could create a functioning comedy about a blind mind directing an entire film, he does stretch the thin premise a bit far without ever really taking the effort of finding new dynamics to explore or even delving into the ones he is already working with in a more clever manner than the thin and basic way he does. He throws in plenty of characters which he never does anything with and their scenes are largely irrelevant and unnecessary. I mean the characters are interesting, but Woody Allen fails to emphasise why and so the characters all just fade away from the viewer's short term memory like tears in the rain.

Lastly, the ending to the film was very abrupt and dynamics piled upon each other every which way but loose without taking a second to stop and explain why they were happening or allow the characters to really react to it. It's ending threw too much in there for a film with a lot of dynamics that were very repetitive and predictable.

So Hollywood Ending's problem is largely the fact that it lacks what is in the title, but the cast led by Woody Allen keeps things alive.