| Overall Grade: |
A+ |
|
| Story: |
A+ |
|
|
| Acting: |
A+ |
|
|
| Direction: |
A+ |
|
|
| Visuals: |
A+ |
|
|
Eccentric but funny
by John (movies profile)
Feb 5, 2009
What happens when a washed-up movie producer, a rookie screenwriter, a newly converted black Jewish action star, and a tightly wound studio executive decide to make a movie? Meet Charlie Berns (William H. Macy), a veteran Hollywood movie producer whose suicidal tendencies have shaped his brazen and nearly invincible attitude. When his rookie screenwriter nephew hands him a script about Benjamin Disraeli, he decides to green light a $100 million Jewish movie deal without ever reading it. Enter the sharp-witted studio executive Deidre Hearn (Meg Ryan) who sees through Charlie’s antics while simultaneously admiring his indifferent personality. Despite their loathing attitudes toward each other, Berns and Hearn lock in the movie deal by signing Bobby Mason (LL Cool J), a newly converted black Jewish action star. In this smart screwball satire, Charlie brashly begins creating a movie that is perceivably successful by Hollywood, but in no way follows his nephew’s script. During the movie shoot in South Africa, money hungry thugs kidnap their star Mason and seemingly destroy their chances of finishing the movie. In an attempt to avoid the studio from shutting them down, the mismatched pair conspires to keep the cameras rolling at the studio’s expense, and reluctantly fall in love in the process. The mischievous charm in this satire that inconspicuously pokes fun at Hollywood by revealing its stereotypes hinges on the wonderfully crackly Tracy-Hepburn chemistry between William Macy and Meg Ryan. Based on Peter Lefcourt’s novel “The Deal”, the irrational conduct of the characters in this independent film merge together creating an inside comedic look at the absurdity of Hollywood. Macy’s apathetic performance is the thread that weaves together a satirical mood and emotion, evolving the perfect balance of comedy and romance. Amidst the chaos of trying to pull off one of the biggest hustles in Hollywood history, Charlie and Deidre discover that there is more to life than making the deal. |
My Public Profile 
