Film Review: The Hollywood Sign (2001)
Great Hollywood actors of the past forced to make ends meet by appearing in low budget films way below their reputation is a sad but very recognisable fact that receives some sort of "meta" treatment in The Hollywood Sign, 2001 comedy directed by Sönke Wartmann. The film is based on the novel by Dutch writer Leon de Winter, who also wrote the script. The plot shows how once successful Hollywood actor Tom Greener (played by Tom Berenger) meets with his old colleague Kage Mulligan (played by Burt Reynolds) and realises that both can't get acting jobs anymore and must take different lines of work in order to survive. This is the point already taken by Floyd Benson (played by Rod Steiger), elderly actor who, despite winning an Oscar, installs burglar alarms for a living. The trio meets at the funeral of a powerful agent and, after reminiscing about old times and some drinking, visit the famous Hollywood sign and find the body of a man. They soon realise that the man was involved in some shady business with Las Vegas casinos connected with organised crime. Tom gets an idea to rob those casinos by following the unproduced screenplay developed by his girlfriend Paula (played by Jacqueline Kim). The trio decides to use their acting skills, this time in order to impersonate policemen and get their hands on the money.
The Hollywood Sign is one of those films that have an idea that looks great on paper only to be poorly realised on screen. This is partly due to the low budget, and partly due to uninspired direction by Sönke Wartmann, a German director best known for successful comedies in his native country. While an outsider's perspective always can be refreshing, his handling of Tinseltown leaves too much to be desired, with the quality of humour quickly decelerating and the audience becoming to lose much interest in the film. The Hollywood Sign features an interesting and quite respectable cast, with a trio of main actors playing not only fictional characters, but also in some ways taking inspiration from many of their colleagues who had fallen on hard times after reaching fame. This makes The Hollywood Sign quite dark and melancholic at times, and the most memorable scene is in which Burt Reynolds' character tearfully watches his younger self on television. When this happens to a film which is supposed to be a comedy, it usually doesn't bode well for its quality. Apart from the most devoted fans of Berenger, Reynolds and Steiger, it is hard to imagine that anyone would be satisfied after watching The Hollywood Sign, so its relative obscurity shouldn't come as a surprise.
RATING: 3/10 (+)
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