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:

Crew or equipment visible: As Al and Chau enter the revolving doors, the reflection of a crew member holding a white reflecting board can be seen in the windows.

Quotes:

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

Movie Connections:

References Guys and Dolls (1955/I)

Soundtrack:

Going Hollywood

Some of it is witty Allen stuff but the blindness joke is stretched and the narrative poor

Following a string of flops and a "difficult" reputation, director Val Waxman is now paying the bills doing adverts or anything else he can get. When his ex-wife gets her project greenlit by producer boyfriend Hal Jaeger, she fights for Val to get the job. Despite the personal issues and conflicts Val knows it is his last chance to get his career back and takes the job. The personal problems are only the start of things going wrong whenever Val is suddenly struck down with psychosomatic blindness. Knowing that this would get him fired and ruined, Val and his agent try to conceal the fact and continue the film.

With poor reviews and no good signs about it, it was no surprise that this film never came to any cinemas near me (was it even released in the UK?) and to be honest I wasn't that bothered that I missed it. A visit to Austria recently found it playing in cinema in Vienna and, although I didn't see it then, it put it in my mind to watch it at home and see if it was worth the ongoing cinema screenings that the Austrians were giving it. The start of the film suggests a fairly good film as it is full of the usual Allen wit even if it felt a bit like him on autopilot. However with the "blindness" section things seem to falter and fail a bit – at first it is funny but quickly it gets tired and there is nothing injected into the film to shore it up. The reason for the blindness is suggested as interesting but it is barely done and not taken anywhere other than the most basic development in order to provide a conclusion. The idea is good and the real life parallels are interesting (Allen, handicapped by the American system but still appreciated in Europe even if he doesn't totally understand why) but these are not taken beyond the original concept and never brought out in the script. Instead we have plenty of OK jokes and quips but nothing that approaches an engaging narrative or a developed plot. It is still OK but it is unlikely that any audiences other than real Allen fans will get much fro it; as one I laughed and enjoyed it a bit but am not blind to the massive weaknesses.

Allen does his usual stuff to good effect and if you like him you'll like him here. Leoni acts in his shadow and can't make the role her own – she stays very much an Allen creation. Williams is enjoyable; Hamilton is fun and the support cast all do well enough with their various parts. None of them really shine but the script still shares the laughs around and nobody actually gave a bad performance as such – just a shame that none of them have a character to speak of either.

Overall this is an OK film but nothing more than that. Even fans of Woody Allen will be at a stretch to forgive a script that has no development, characters or reason. The laughs come in fits and starts and the film rarely satisfies; fun but nothing to write home about and I'm glad I didn't spent my limited time in Austria watching this.