"Hollywoodland" (2006)

The biggest problem I have with these movies is that they add more questions then they answer. In that sense, the filmmakers can go fuck themselves. Though, knowing this, they HAVE to find some interest.

So they invented this douchebag we hate a LOT. That’s Adrian Brody’s character. A scummy private investigator who gets roped into finding out if the death of George Reeves was a suicide (as L.A.P.D. signed off on) or was it a murder…from who they conjecture from this movie someone he was involved with.

George Reeves is played by Ben Affleck who seems grossly out of his league next to Diane Lane…who plays Toni Mannix, the wife of a high powered Hollywood fixer, Eddie Mannix…parodied (?) by the Coen Brothers most recently in “Hail Caesar!”. If you look back on Diane’s career, you would think her child actress status would cement her into typical roles. Would’ve been like that in the 50’s. That was when the studio system relied on people like Eddie Mannix to cover up bad things. The power was limited to the small amounts of people who were put in that position. The actors and crew were all contracted. I think there are plenty of people today who may’ve preferred that work environment, since it guaranteed work as an actor. To which they touch up on. If you follow Hollywood lore, George Reeves played television’s Superman, whose naked body was found with a single bullet hole to the head after a party. Downstairs was Reeves’ “fiancée” and a few friends who claimed he’d committed suicide. The movie posits that Reeves’ mother wanted to uncover the truth but was paid off by MGM, and also that it was the work of Eddie Mannix and his cronies. Which also paid off the police. A lot of this could actually be true. And I hope you at least did a little research before reading this. The truth of the police during this time was that they were in-cahoots with the studios. You have to keep in mind, movies…which were enormously popular, were just 20-30 years in. A TON changes in Los Angeles in a handful of years. The boom was due to the glamour and glitz. Studios controlled everything. They would mold specific people to be their stars. And if you were chosen, it meant you were in their system. They “fixed” your issues. A sort of “Stepford Wives” type manipulation.

While they could make you, they could also break you. Even today, as the town has grown to a ridiculous population, the smallest news spreads to the deafest ears within seconds. Back in the 50’s, the word of mouth, didn’t have to be true, and it was usually released by the people who were to watch out for your best interest.

The core problem of this movie is that…no one cares. While to Hollywood history nerds (like myself) it’s fascinating to watch how the system once operated. It really comes down to, is this story THAT fascinating? Not more so than any average “48 Hours Mystery” which it sort of backpedals to.

I don’t think there’s a logical answer as to why people hate Ben Affleck’s face. I have no issue with it, but can see how people would be annoyed by him. If he isn’t a blank slate, he’s pushing dialogue through his mouth in an odd manner. And, as much as we want to see him live in this era, he simply looks too modern. I guess if you take that into account and realize that is also what George Reeves suffered through, you can see that not much hasn’t changed in this business. Perhaps it’s human nature we’re addressing here. This made worse, when he is the boy toy of Diane Lane’s Toni. Was it jealousy that killed him, or depression from being at the purse strings of a woman whose husband had some responsibility in his obscure career. The truth comes out in a brutal back and forth when Reeves decides to go after a younger woman.

Adrian Brody is actually the main character here. The timeline of the story is foggy, since the access to a fresh juicy minor celeb story should’ve been much more secretive. This seemed to have occurred a few days after the incident. But then we see a much older Diane Lane later in the story. A timeline gimmick which can backfire. He’s a bit annoying too. He starts as a gumshoe for hire, but turns into a crusader…for what reason? The movie gives us the phoniest reason (I’ll let you decide why).

The most aggravating part of this is…why is it even a mystery? I get that it’s more interesting that someone covered up a murder, but the reasons are so thin. To me, that’s usually the case with murders. It was over something dumb. Or in the case of calling it a suicide, again, did it affect anyone but him?

It makes sense to make stories about Manson or John Holmes’, if it’s Hollywood trash…but the stakes are just too low in something regarding a blip on the Tinsel Town radar.