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Netflix’s ‘Hollywood’ Could Have Been Great If It Wasn’t So Focused On Being Woke
The Federalist ^ | May 15, 2020 | Paulina Enck

Posted on 05/15/2020 7:42:11 AM PDT by Kaslin

At the end of the day, 'Hollywood' doesn't care about telling a compelling story about interesting people, but is intent on demonstrating the importance of representation in media.


There are two excellent stories at the center of “Hollywood,” Ryan Murphy’s alt-history saga of old Hollywood. An intrepid group of friends attempt to make a big studio romance starring a talented black actress in 1947. An aspiring actor must negotiate his desire for fame with his morals, in the backdrop of a sexually exploitive agent and the omnipresent risk of his homosexuality becoming discovered.

Both of these stories are technically covered in the show, but they are not nearly done the justice they deserve. That is because those narratives would be character-focused, exploring the struggles of the protagonists with nuance and drama.

“Hollywood” isn’t interested in real, nor does it seek nuance. Instead, the series is focused on a self-congratulatory look on how the movies are the only real avenue of social change, and that racism and homophobia in the 1940s could be cured by making movies.

The series tells the story of three young men in post-war Los Angeles as they try to break into the movie business, eventually attempting to create the first studio film with a black leading lady. Raymond (Darren Criss) is an up-and-coming director whose goal is to revitalize the career of his favorite actress, Anna May Wong (Michelle Krusiec), who struggled to find roles due to her Chinese heritage.

Ray is dating a black actress, Camille (Laura Harrier) during a time interracial marriages were still illegal. Archie (Jeremy Pope) is a gay, black screenwriter and sometimes gigolo who finds himself balancing career ambitions and a developing relationship with actor Rock Hudson (Jake Picking).

Jack (David Corenswet) is a handsome World War II veteran who wants to be a movie star, but finds himself working as an escort. The only reasons we’re given to support him and his narcissistic dreams are his incredibly sympathetic pregnant wife (Maude Apatow), his charm and good looks, and the fact that he’s the de facto protagonist.

Squandered Potential

A number of incredibly effective scenes demonstrate the squandered potential of the show, particularly those focusing on transactional sex, both in prostitution and quid pro quo.

A scene in the third episode goes from tense to tragic to heartwarming all within five minutes, navigating the tonal shifts like a much smarter show. Rock is pushed by his slimy and sexually harassing agent Henry Wilson (Jim Parsons) to sleep with a producer, Dick (Joe Mantello). The moment is quiet, emotionally fraught, and deeply personal, one of the only major scenes to just be about the characters and not the impact to society at large. As such, the hopeful ending may be the only one that feels earned.

The show’s ability to play in the morally grey was highlighted during a shocking and clever scene where Camille asks her boyfriend for a role in his movie during sex. The manipulation and emotional complications are handled deftly, as the episode showed audiences exactly what moments led Camille to that decision without excusing the ethical implications and potential harm to her relationship. However, all of the complexity so expertly displayed in the scene is completely undercut when, just moments later, Camille apologizes to Raymond for the manipulation, and he agrees to get her a screen-test.

Message Over Plot and Character

Rather than allowing Camille to be a flawed, layered character, any poor decisions are cleared up and apologized for within minutes. It would have been much more interesting to witness the long-term ramifications of such blatant sexual manipulation on her self-image and on the relationship. Yet Camille must remain a symbol of the oppressed black actress, and any weakness or shortcoming undermines the purpose of her character.

This problem with Camille stems from a broader issue with the series: it doesn’t allow characters to be morally ambiguous. Everyone is either a moral hero crusading for justice and equality or a cartoonish villain exploiting the systems in place for his own ends. Any protagonist who has doubts or makes a morally questionable decision must come to his or her senses and discover the greater purpose by the next scene, leaving the characters feel more like stand-ins for ideas than people.

At the end of the day, “Hollywood” doesn’t care about telling a compelling story about interesting people, but is intent on demonstrating the importance of representation in media. The self-importance is as astonishing as it is tone-deaf.

Wasted Talent

That being said, the cast does their best with the one-note characters, attempting to flesh out some humanity in the thinly drawn personas. It’s a shame the performances aren’t given to more worthy material.

Jim Parsons, best known for his work on “The Big Bang Theory,” gives his all to the cartoonishly villainous Henry Wilson, based on the historical predatory agent. His attempts to break from the Sheldon Cooper typecast are effective, though he seems to be leaning a little heavily into the evil of his character. His upcoming role in the Ryan Murphy adaptation of “The Boys in the Band,” set to hit Netflix sometime this year, will far better demonstrate Parsons’s range and talents, as he brings his outstanding turn as the play’s lead from the 2018 Broadway production to the screen.

Patti LuPone’s frustrated studio head’s wife and Joe Mantello’s self-loathing producer come close to some depth, but any character development is quickly washed away in favor of maintaining a black and white morality, which leaves no room for doubtful or tempted characters. This is especially frustrating when LuPone and Mantello play their more compromised scenes so well, it would have been a treat to see what they would have done with more interesting versions of their characters.

The only character to operate in the moral grey is Jack. However, this attempted antihero lacks the one characteristic required for the type to work: any reason whatsoever to like him. Jack is selfish, narcissistic, arrogant, incredibly vapid, and cruel to his kind and likable wife. The only reason Jack is remotely likable rests on David Corenswet’s charm and beauty. Corenswet is very effective as the difficult-to-like protagonist, balancing out an overwhelming slate of bad character traits to somehow make Jack a functioning lead.

The chemistry between the two main couples is spectacular, and helps give the audience something in which to invest. Camille and Raymond have a deep connection, and an exciting chemistry bolstered by Laura Harrier and Darren Criss’s excellent performances. Their scenes together hint at a longstanding intimacy with an exciting spark.

Archie and Rock charmingly portray a developing couple in the thrill of new love with genuine chemistry and believability, and Jeremy Pope and Jake Picking are both strong in their respective roles. However, Picking’s Rock Hudson should have been given a fictional name. The series presents the charismatic and gifted leading man as a naive, talentless actor who is as awkward in front of the camera as he is in real life.

Anyone who has seen Hudson’s films, from “Pillow Talk” to his Oscar nominated turn in “Giant,” knows he can really act. He also has a magnetic onscreen presence, which made him such an effective heartthrob. Picking plays his character beautifully, but that character simply isn’t Hudson.

What Could Have Been

A lot of talent went in to the making of “Hollywood.” It’s beautifully shot, well acted, and a handful of scenes demonstrate that the writers and directors can produce gripping and moving products. However, the show doesn’t work, because it isn’t really a show at all. It’s a self-congratulatory sermon celebrating Hollywood’s woke-ness.

It can be more frustrating to watch an okay show with immense potential than a hopelessly awful one. Every frame of Hollywood is dripping with a heart-wrenching “what could have been.” But rather than a nuanced look at race, sex, harassment, movies, and dreams in 1940s, the show opts for a surface-level approach as vapid as the Hollywood sign central to its title sequence.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial
KEYWORDS: castingcouch; filmreview; filmreviews; goldenhollywood; hollywood; moviereview; moviereviews; netflix; rockhudson; ryanmurphy; streaming; televisionreview
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1 posted on 05/15/2020 7:42:11 AM PDT by Kaslin
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To: Kaslin

I cancelled NETFLIX years ago. Prime TV is much better.


2 posted on 05/15/2020 7:44:15 AM PDT by mosaicwolf
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To: Kaslin

couldn’t get passed the only story line seemed to be prostitution for self glory... and the cliche’ characters were a big turn off.

will not be binging on this one.


3 posted on 05/15/2020 7:45:24 AM PDT by teeman8r (Armageddon won't be pretty, but it's not like it's the end of the world)
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To: Kaslin

Out of sheer covid19 boredom, made the mistake of the watching the first episode of this snoozefest. Aside from being shameless LGBT propaganda, it’s a total bore. Don’t bother.


4 posted on 05/15/2020 7:46:39 AM PDT by irishjuggler
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To: Kaslin

Looks boring. Ryan Murphy bring gay seems to think all his shows need to be gay. Agenda agenda agenda is all Hollywood is anymore.


5 posted on 05/15/2020 7:47:52 AM PDT by napscoordinator (Trump/Hunter, jr for President/Vice President 2016)
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To: Kaslin
This problem with Camille stems from a broader issue with the series: it doesn’t allow characters to be morally ambiguous. Everyone is either a moral hero crusading for justice and equality or a cartoonish villain exploiting the systems in place for his own ends.

This is every Hollywood movie since the rise to power of the Clintons bought Alinsky into scriptwriting.

6 posted on 05/15/2020 7:48:13 AM PDT by Mr. Jeeves ([CTRL]-[GALT]-[DELETE])
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To: Kaslin

Another ‘Pinkish’ soap opera.


7 posted on 05/15/2020 7:48:43 AM PDT by lee martell
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To: Kaslin

They typically have warnings on all these shows... One new warning is ‘smoking’... Because seeing somebody smoking is apparently ‘offensive’ to some... My question.

Why do they not have an LGBTQQIP2SAA etc. warning?

Pretty much ever Netflix show now has some sort of LGBTQQIP2SAA character included, even if the story clearly has no need for such a character. The writers are obviously just including a LGBTQQIP2SAA person in their stories so Netflix will fund them.


8 posted on 05/15/2020 7:53:58 AM PDT by jerod (Nazi's were essentially Socialist in Hugo Boss uniforms... Get over it!)
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To: Kaslin

we tried to watch. waay too much homo sex.
we just just quit after a little of episode 3.


9 posted on 05/15/2020 7:57:57 AM PDT by ronniesgal (so I wonder what his FR handle is???? and let's get back to living!!!)
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To: jerod

There isn’t anything coming out of Hollywood that isn’t pure propaganda.


10 posted on 05/15/2020 7:58:03 AM PDT by JayAr36 (Do you want to be a subject or a citizen.)
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To: Kaslin

Hollywood is just another porn fest. Then again isn’t that what’s Hollywood is all about.


11 posted on 05/15/2020 7:58:18 AM PDT by ImJustAnotherOkie (All I know is The I read in the papers.)
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To: Kaslin
Racism, homophobia.... Same old same old. I give this one a big meh. Not that I subscribe to Netflix anyway.
12 posted on 05/15/2020 7:59:27 AM PDT by Rummyfan (In any war between the civilized man and the savage, support the civilized man. Support Israel.)
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To: jerod

you make a great point! If smoking gets a warning, certainly homo sex should get at least 2 warnings. Blech-


13 posted on 05/15/2020 7:59:29 AM PDT by ronniesgal (so I wonder what his FR handle is???? and let's get back to living!!!)
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To: Kaslin

Won’t watch anything from Hollywood or wherever . . . too many “F” words and sodomite scenes. Don’t need any of that crap.


14 posted on 05/15/2020 8:03:45 AM PDT by laweeks
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To: All

COMMUNIST GOALS FROM 1963:

21. Gain control of key positions in radio, TV & motion pictures.

22. Continue discrediting American culture by degrading all form of artistic expression. An American Communist cell was told to “eliminate all good sculpture from parks and buildings,” substituting shapeless, awkward and meaningless forms.

23. Control art critics and directors of art museums. “ Our plan is to promote ugliness, repulsive, meaningless art.”

24.Eliminate all laws governing obscenity by calling them “censorship” and a violation of free speech and free press.

25. Break down cultural standards of morality by promoting pornography and obscenity in books, magazines, motion pictures, radio and TV.

26. Present homosexuality, degeneracy and promiscuity as “normal, natural and healthy.”


15 posted on 05/15/2020 8:04:20 AM PDT by Old Sarge (Quando omni flunkus moritati)
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To: mosaicwolf

I tried to join Netflix when you could order movies to watch. They never had the movies that they advertised. SO I finally gave up. I absolutely refuse to watch Netflix


16 posted on 05/15/2020 8:09:04 AM PDT by Kaslin
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To: Old Sarge

I don’t know about anybody else...
But, I am tired of all gay all the time.

If it is necessary for a plot, then fine. If it adds to the character, story, fine. But to make it mandatory to have gay characters just to have diversity, is distracting and boring.

It is to the point where in a typical detective, murder mystery series.

The focus is no longer “who done it” but who is going to “come out”. The catch the killer is becoming a secondary story line to the LGBT relationship.


17 posted on 05/15/2020 8:13:02 AM PDT by uranium penguin
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To: Old Sarge

They’ve done a pretty good job.


18 posted on 05/15/2020 8:16:59 AM PDT by jerod (Nazi's were essentially Socialist in Hugo Boss uniforms... Get over it!)
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To: Kaslin

Ryan Murphy is a one-man publicity agency for the gay lifestyle.


19 posted on 05/15/2020 8:18:50 AM PDT by Demiurge2 (Define your terms!)
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To: Kaslin

I watched about 10 minutes of a show on Starz called High Town. Your typical LEO story that is set in Province Town, MA.

The faggotry and vice was so prolific I turned it off after 5 minutes.


20 posted on 05/15/2020 8:19:03 AM PDT by Rebelbase (Democrat politicians prefer death)
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