Hollywoodland

The stories behind the real-life movers and shakers of Hollywood have always been more interesting than the actual films. Let’s face it, Hollywood has never made a lie of the fact that it is first and foremost a business. The seedy place has always attracted the most degenerate and desperate of individuals. Prostitutes, murderers, the mafia, white collar criminals, drug fiends, homosexuals, lesbians, war profiteers, communists and a whole large cast of other social parasites. Kenneth Anger’s wonderful book Hollywood Babylon I and II goes into depth on a variety of things. Hollywoodland is one of the few films to come out of Hollywood that reflects on the dark past of the ghostly streets of Sunset Boulevard.

Hollywoodland is a “biopic” of sorts attempting to examine the mysterious death of TV Superman George Reeves. The silly and embarrassingly bad actor Ben Affleck stars as the slightly out of shape Mr. Reeves. I must say that the casting of Affleck as Reeves was indeed appropriate. Like Affleck, George Reeves seemed to be an actor that took himself far too seriously as acting goes. Affleck probably finds his biggest fan base in Kevin Smith fans whereas Reeves found his fan base with little boys. Both men seem to attract males that have a hard time finding members of the opposite sex.

An arrogant and wannabe tough guy Adrien Brody stars in Hollywoodland as Louis Simo, a somewhat of a loser private detective. I wouldn’t be surprised if Simo was a relative of sleazebag gossip columnist Walter Winchall. Simo really has nothing going for him in life but he is determined to prove that George Reeves did not commit suicide. Simo’s “brave” style of personal investigating is a result of his nothing to live for mentality. Also, Simo unsurprisingly has a soft spot for paper money. Other than receiving a few bucks here and there, Simo’s life sucks. His young son doesn’t want much to do with him and he always seems to get his ass kicked.

Hollywoodland’s strength lie in it’s unpleasant story of an over glamorized place. Many children and even adults dream of going to Hollywood where all the great American stars once stood. But when one takes a look at what Hollywood was built on and the tragedies surrounding it(such as the death of George Reeves), Hollywood loses its magic. When an ugly troll of a criminal states “he makes movies” near Hollywoodland’s conclusion, one gets a bitter feeling in their stomach. How could such an ugly man control what played on American silver screens?

I have never thought of Ben Affleck as the "cool" guy he pretends to be in movies. Like the late George Reeves, Affleck must know of his limitations as a so called “talent.” Despite Reeves’s story being told through a series of flashbacks, his character sticks out. He was a man that wanted to be much bigger than he could have ever dreamed of. It would have been no surprise if he really killed himself but many still reject this. Whether he killed himself or not, George Reeves most likely had a death wish. Hollywoodland makes it clear that he did not have much more to live for. Although a sometimes banal film, Hollywoodland at least offers the viewer something to think about.

-Ty E