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What Just Happened?

Hollywood likes to explore itself because it is a narcissistic culture that believes that its stars and film-makers are all very special and fascinating people.  And who can blame them? We are a celebrity-driven culture that cares far more about which celeb is addicted to alcohol and which starlet is having sex with which hunk than just about anything else. In 1992, noted director Robert Altman explored the studio world with "The Player." While some hailed it as a masterpiece, I found it to be a few steps above ordinary, at best.

Another famed director, Barry Levinson, has taken his shot at presenting an insider's guide into the world of filmmaking, Hollywood style, with "What Just Happened." Levinson has assembled an outstanding cast including Robert Deniro as Ben, a successful producer that has to put up with the shenanigans of pompous actors, drug-addicted directors, insane agents, cutthroat studio heads and annoying screenwriters. While Ben has his faults, he appears to be a fairly sane victim of an insane world. It is no coincidence that the film is based on a memoir of an actual Hollywood producer (Art Linson).

The star-studded cast of "What Just Happened" includes Bruce Willis as our pompous actor, Michael Wincott as the drug-addicted director, John Turturro as the insane agent, Catherine Keener as the cutthroat studio head and Stanley Tucci as the annoying screenwriter. Robin Wright Penn is Ben's most recent ex-wife and Sean Penn is the star of "Fiercely," the film that Ben is producing for all of the above mentioned stars. The cast is made up of great actors. Unfortunately, they are stuck in this miserable place where they are all mostly posing. There is no doubt that they all appeared to be having fun while making this because they are lampooning their own industry but I don't know if they understandi that they are also lampooning themselves.

Robert Deniro is a great actor but despite this there are times where you can't help but look at the screen and say to yourself, "Hey, it's Robert Deniro!" This is not a good thing. It's what I call Tom Cruise Disease because in almost all of his films, no matter his role, you see Tom Cruise on the screen instead of the role he is playing. With Willis and Sean Penn that is not a problem because they are playing themselves. The only actors who really convince you that they are their characters are Robin Wright Penn and Catherine Keener, the latter of whom gives a particularly outstanding performance.

There are a few funny moments in this supposed comedy but you can just catch most most of them in the trailer. There is no need to see any more of this waste of film unless you feel like a few hours of stargazing. It is listed at as 107 minutes long but I swear to you that it feels as long as a four hour docudrama about the origins of quilting. "What Just Happened" should have a question mark at the end of the title because that is what the producer and studio head of this film should be asking themselves.