Review of The Player (1992) by Ceph J — 13 Oct 2011
"The Player" is a Hollywood production executive who can murder a writer and not get caught. This is a satire with an excellent screenplay that will make you smile and maybe, giggle here and there. Besides the screenplay, the fun is seeing stars show up in cameos or supporting roles. My fav line is when Burt Reynolds asks an agent "Who's that?" referring to Peter Gallagher. The man responds "He's an exec, well for now, anyway." It's true. Hollywood is all about profit and making money, you're only as good as your last success.
Tim Robbins is miscast in the role, he doesn't show enough "fire in the belly" and is too laid-back to have audiences care about his fate. He has a baby face and looks like a teenager dressed up in a suit. You wonder how he got the job and what kind of record he has. Whoopi Goldberg steals her scenes as an inspector and Fred Ward is tough as a lawyer. I also liked Dina Merrill as the busy secretary and Cynthia Stevenson as a moralistic assistant who gets fired.
The pace is too slow and some of the jokes are insider stuff. I'm not a big fan of Altman because his movies languish at a slow pace and this one could be much better at 90 minutes. It doesn't earn the 2 hour time because there's hardly a plot. Despite these reservations, it's a must-see for movie fans.
This review of The Player (1992) was written by Ceph J on 13 Oct 2011.
The Player has generally received very positive reviews.
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