Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on September 2010

©2007 2929 Productions LLC

The satire in this send-up by Barry Levinson (Wag the Dog) of the Hollywood film machine is constant and sly. So sly, however, that those not directly involved in the “movie business” may miss most of it. I loved it, but I can understand how it could seem a tad tedious to cinematic outsiders. Central character Robert De Niro, an A-list producer with a string of flops, has to deal with a variety of personal-relationship issues while at the same time trying to rescue his latest film, a moody Sean Penn thriller that concludes with the shooting of a dog. Michael Wincott is great as the bad-boy, prima-donna Brit director, and Bruce Willis does some of his best work as, well, a temperamental, abusive, overweight Bruce Willis. Looks like he’s having fun. Anyway, egos are stroked, backs are stabbed, business is done. And art suffers. But even if you’re part of the tiny target audience, the film may seem a bit choppy, as it’s a fictional adaptation of the episodic memoirs of veteran producer Art Linson (Fight Club, Heist). Top-notch cast includes Robin Wright Penn, Catherine Keener, Stanley Tucci and John Turturro.