Hollywood Ending (2002)
- General info
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- Synopsis:
- Woody Allen plays Val Waxman, a once-famous film director who's down on his luck and just needs one good picture to bring his career back. But when Val gets an offer to make a big film, his paranoia causes him to go psychosomatic blind. He and a few friends scramble to cover up his disability and keep the studio executives from discovering that Val's directing the film in the dark, which gets tougher as Val's ineptitude starts to shine.
- Actors:
- Woody Allen, Téa Leoni, Bob Dorian, Ivan Martin, Gregg Edelman, George Hamilton, Treat Williams, Debra Messing, Neal Huff, Mark Rydell, Douglas McGrath, Stephanie Roth Haberle, Bill Gerber, Roxanne Perry, Barbara Carroll
- Directors:
- Woody Allen
- Writers:
- Woody Allen
- Genres:
- Comedy, Romance
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Reviews (1) of Hollywood Ending
This is still waiting for a UK release. - Hollywood Ending review by Steve
Woody plays a temperamental film director suffering a critical backlash... As a favour, his producer ex-wife ( Téa Leoni) throws a project his way knowing his career is on the skids. But just at that moment, Woody goes psychosomatically blind. Apparently this was based on Allen's films with cinematographer Sven Nykvist whose eyesight was failing.
His agent convinces him to make the film anyway as he's on an absolute last chance, so the blind director takes into his confidence a Chinese interpreter hired because the cinematographer speaks no English.
There are problems with this film which were consistent with a few of Allen's releases at the turn of the century. Some of his phrases seem over-familiar (Woody says he never rewatches his work, so maybe that's why) and as a screen couple, Woody and Ms. Leoni can't overcome the fact that they are not even from adjoining generations.
But the film is still funny with some inspired farce and a good story. There's even some slapstick in there. Not everything pays off. It's a touch too long and the best lines are all in the first half. But the cast is well chosen as usual, and Leoni makes an appealing and skilled comedy co-star. It's a film about making a Hollywood film, which means there's plenty of insider insight to enjoy.