Hollywood Ending (2002)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

Woody Allen

Writer (WGA):

Woody Allen (written by)

Release Date:

3 May 2002 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

It's Going to be a Shot in the Dark!

Plot:

A has-been filmmaker is hired to direct his ex-wife, who's now dating the studio boss. But when he arrives on the set, he develops a case of psychosomatic blindness.

Plot Keywords:

Studio | Blind | Psychosomatic Blindness | Director | Blindness

Cast

Téa Leoni	...	Ellie
Bob Dorian	...	Galaxie Executive
Ivan Martin	...	Galaxie Executive
Gregg Edelman	...	Galaxie Executive
George Hamilton	...	Ed
Treat Williams	...	Hal
Woody Allen	...	Val
Debra Messing	...	Lori
Neal Huff	...	Commercial A.D.
Mark Rydell	...	Al
Douglas McGrath	...	Barbeque Guest
Stephanie Roth Haberle	...	Barbeque Guest
Bill Gerber	...	Barbeque Guest
Roxanne Perry	...	Barbeque Guest
Barbara Carroll	...	Carlyle Pianist

Also Known As:

Dirigindo no Escuro (Brazil) [pt]
Hollywood - elokuvan päätepysäkki (Finland) (DVD title) [fi]
Hollywood Ending (Italy) [it]
Hollywood Ending (France) [fr]
Hollywood Ending (Denmark) [da]
Koniec z Hollywood (Poland) [pl]
La mirada de los otros (Argentina) [es]
Näkemiin, Hollywood (Finland) (TV title) [fi]
Paizontas sta tyfla (Greece) [el]
Un final made in Hollywood (Spain) [es]
Un final made in Hollywood (Spain: Catalan title) [ca]

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some drug references and sexual material.

Runtime:

112 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Mandarin

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS (Mono) | Dolby Digital (Mono) | SDDS (Mono)

Certification:

Finland:K-3 | Australia:PG | Iceland:L | South Korea:15 | USA:PG-13 (certificate #38661) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Argentina:Atp | Brazil:Livre | France:U | Hong Kong:IIA | Netherlands:AL | Spain:13 | Sweden:Btl | Switzerland:12 (canton of the Grisons) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | Peru:PT | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Central Park, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

DreamWorks SKG

Trivia:

Director Trademark: [Woody Allen] [credits]opening credits are simple white typeface on black set to early period music.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: when Val Waxman recovers his sight in the park, the angle where the sun light hits the buildings in the background is different than the angle where the light hits Val and Ellie.

Quotes:

Val: For me, the nicest thing about masturbation is afterward, the cuddling time.

Movie Connections:

References Guys and Dolls (1955/I)

Soundtrack:

Too Close For Comfort

Woody does it again!

He does it again as he has done so many times before; he's funny.He makes me laugh.This time Woody plays what he really is, a movie director.He's a man named Val Waxman who hasn't been in the spotlight in a while.But now he gets an opportunity to direct a big film again.That chance he gets from his ex-wife Ellie (Téa Leoni).There's a little problem there.And also that Ellie's studio boss boyfriend Hal (Treat Williams) is around.When he should start directing the film he goes psychosomatically blind.And as we all know, it's hard to direct a movie blind.But he doesn't go spreading the news that he's blind.First it's only his agent Al (Mark Rydell) who knows.But Al can't be around all the time helping him so they tell the Chinese cameraman's translator (Barney Cheng).But then he's fired by the cameraman so they have to tell Ellie.Woody Allen's Hollywood Ending (2002) is the modern Woody Allen at his funniest.He's as funny as can be in the lead.He made me laugh number of times.The rest of the cast does great job also.Tea Léoni is wonderful as Ellie.Mark Rydell is terrific as Al.There's the great George Hamilton as Ed.Debra Messing does brilliant job as Val's girlfriend Lori.Tiffani Thiessen is magnificent as Sharon Bates.Jodie Markell's great as Andrea.All the other unmentioned actors and actresses are all equally brilliant.This movie has a series of funny scenes.One that made me laugh was when Hal wants to have a chat with Val at Hal's room and everything goes wrong.And remember, he has to pretend that he has his vision all the time.Another one is when Val's at Sharon's room where she tries to seduce him.It's hard to seduce a blind man, well, because he's blind.The movie has some serious moments, too.I mean, Val's packed with all sorts of problems, not only the blindness thing.Hollywood Ending is a wonderfully written, acted and directed movie.It's a near masterpiece.Obviously Woody still haven't lost his touch.Good luck to you Mr.Allen with your future efforts.Let them be as good as this one-or even better.