Hollywood: "Hooray for Hollywood Part 2" and... nope, I can't do this.
Monday, May 4, 2020 at 10:00AM by Nathaniel R
Holland Taylor is always a joy to watch. She's a studio exec with a special gift for spotting future stars.
ICYMI the kick off Eric Blume started our look at Ryan Murphy's Netflix limited series "Hollywood" breaking down the first episode by the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly... because plot has never been a Murphy strength but surfaces are obviously the primary concern in la la Land... or, excuse me, "Dreamland" a secret word to unlock (literal) pleasure in this particular show.
After the jump quick notes on Episode 2 in which the principal cast members serendipitously meets...
Episode 2 - "Hooray for Hollywood Part 2"
THE GOOD
Okay we've all daydreamed about Oscars while fucking, right? Right?!? (Just me? Oops) so every once in awhile "Hollywood" has the common sense to go straight for camp. That's true of this scene when Jack takes his benefactor (Patti Lupone) on the stairs and as he thrusts away to pay his bills we have a hilarious focus pull to the Oscars upstairs that he's staring at. The end will justify the means?
The second episode also includes a gay sex scene that is revealed to be a freebie (implausible for a prositute... could you imagine going to work and saying 'nah, I dont need a paycheck! Thanks anyway, boss). Because, well, this is the sweet aspiring actor and future "Rock Hudson" and his preferred prostitute is the sweet aspiring screenwriter Archie (Jeremy Pope) who just likes "Rock" a lot. We put the legend's name in quotes because...
Rock Hudson people are you suing Ryan Murphy? Because you should.
— Murtada Elfadl (@ME_Says) May 2, 2020
But if you remove the movie star from the equation (why oh why couldn't this show have had the decency to be purely fictional and not drag real people through its ahistorical mud?). It's a sweet scene that reminds you of how rare it is to have sex or post-coital scenes on screens (big or small) in which both characters are joyful about being together, especially queer characters. Sex positivity should be celebrated.
THE BAD
But on the flip side, Hollywood's ideas about sex and especially sex work are quite muddy. It wants to suggest that exploitation is bad (note the very icky scene where Jim Parson tells "Rock" that if he wants him as an agent, he'll have to put out.) but at the same time it keeps celebrating people exploiting their body and beauty for money. The main setting (thus far) is a gas station that's actually a whorehouse and all the hookers appear to be very happy to be exploited. Legit question: Why is putting out for an agent for fame and fortune viewed as disgusting while putting out for fortune is viewed as fun and 'hey, you gotta make a living! Why not get paid for sex?!?'
THE UGLY
Confession #1 that's probably not yet apparent from the irritated previous graphs. I was not hate-watching this show until this scene, late in the second episode, screen-capped above. In the sequence the gorgeous contract player Camille (Laura Harrier from BlacKkKlansman) has her first screen role and does a perfectly servicable take playing a domestic servant bringing the leading lady coffee. She is asked to adjust her (dull) performance "do it like Hattie McDaniel would" and then proceeds to hunch her back, squat a bit, bounce as she walks, and basically engage in the kind of minstrel work that was so viciously lampooned in Spike Lee's Bamboozled. The point of the scene is surely supposed to be that black actors had it rough and they were viewed in very reductive ways by White Hollywood.
But there's a difference between intent and execution. How the scene plays is basically to trash screen legend Hattie McDaniel. Never mind that she was actually a good actor, with fine comic timing (see Alice Adams) and Oscar winning dramatic punch (see Gone with the Wind). She was a trailblazer working within a systemically racist world (remember Mo'Nique's beautiful tribute speech at the Oscars?) but, the filmmakers of Hollywood, seem to be saying, she's part of the problem. Let's not honor her, let's lampoon her.
I was disgusted and the show lost me.
Can we do it again?
THE NOT-SO-UGLY
But yes, there is a LOT of eye candy. And at least the show gave us that aforementioned sex positive post-coital scene between "Rock" and Archie. Both actors, Jake Picking and two-time Tony nominee Jeremy Pope (side note: someone give him a movie musical. We saw both of his Tony-nominated performances and wow) are very easy on the eyes and the scene was quite sweet as they rehearsed "Rock"s screen test.
Confession #2 I almost started Episode 3 about four times in the past day since I originally intended to do a few episodes in this one post. But after the growing ickiness I was imagining would come with this portrayal of Rock Hudson, the humiliating diss of Hattie McDaniel, and the victimization of Anna May Wong plus all of the mixed messaging around beauty and sex and what's required to make it in showbiz, I think it best if I move on. Perhaps another member of Team Experience will continue on with these recaps (the eye candy is at least compelling) but it shan't be me. I have other deadlines: Smackdown Summer here I come.
Reader Comments (26)
Yes, this is not Mad Men and life is short. It's not even that entertaining? Saw two episodes.
Well, I'm glad someone picked up on the fact that basically the Ernie character is running a sex trafficking operation and denying his employees the right to turn down jobs that make them uncomfortable. If the real world had a problem with Bryan Singer doing this, they shouldn't feel as comfortable with a fictionalized version of this being so unironically glorified.
Scotty Bowers or his estate should also sue if this is inaccurate.
It's also odd how nepotism is and isn't working. The studio bosses daughter has this much trouble getting an audition?
After 'Feud's' alleged elevating of Bette and Joan, with its mixed messages, judging from the reviews of "Hollywood," it's more of the Murphy same.
OK I trust you Nathaniel - skipping. But does it still get 22 Emmy nominations?
Have watched both episodes and that is it.... this to me is sex for sex sake. It could be a cartoon.
Murphy has done much better.
JW -- yes. People in the industry just love his stuff for some reason and forgive all the unevenness they would not accept from other creators.
I read this article because of the headline, and it just confirmed what I suspected. I have no desire to watch this show now or ever. I commend Ryan Murphy for putting out positive messages about sexuality, race, gender and such. I think he's awesome and trailblazing in that aspect. But as a showrunner, I can't think of someone currently working that is worse. The stories are barely coherent, the characters change completely from one episode to the next, nothing ever makes sense or has any lasting consequence. I always get the sense from his shows that he thinks television is the lowest of all art forms and treats it accordingly, even though it's made him how many millions? I seriously can't imagine myself ever watching one of his shows again after giving shows like Nip/Tuck and Glee chance after chance after chance. I wanted to like both of those shows, but he's just a horrible showrunner. Period.
Interesting that this fantasy of a more diverse classic Hollywood still includes all male writers, directors and producers. And actresses still get their roles by sleeping with the director. (Spoiler, I guess.)
That sequence isn't taking a shot at Hattie McDaniel. White people always want nonwhite people to imitate their favorite nonwhite person. Hollywood (the actual industry not this limited series) is a factory looking to replicate past glories. Which is why the white starlets and the white pretty boy leading men all look the same. It's why the exceptions to the rule are so widely divergent from what we're told they're looking for. Because like the late Don Rickles said being different gives you longevity.
I finished it. It went down easy enough, even as I recognized that what I was watching wasn't particularly very good. The actors were fine, and I was surprised that the younger men shone best among the ensemble, but maybe it's because all they were asking from them was to be good looking and say variations of "gee whiz, this is happening!". It mostly just feels like a wasted opportunity. Leave revisionism to Tarantino, and tell some true Hollywood stories. Murphy should keep whoever he partners with for American Crime Story always close by. Both of seasons of that anthology allowed his flair to come through, but not at excess or cost to story.
There was one purely positive thing about it though. I found myself watching the opening credit sequence each time. Something about the scoring, the image of all the characters at the top of the sign, and that simple title card really worked for me. It was charming and kind of lovely in a way the series, sadly, just couldn't match.
I agree about the opening sequence.
Hattie McDaniel is actually portrayed well in a later episode. It's not that bad, I was just uncomfortable with the whole sex trafficking thing and felt like the series can be misread as glorifying the casting couch
I didn’t get that from the Hattie McDaniel scene either. I thought it was more taking a shot at the establishment that forces Camille to act that way.
McDaniel was also criticized in her day by the NAACP and similar groups. I think it’s more complicated than that.
I was hoping this would be a good part for Patti LuPone but nope. I liked her first scene but as the series continues she just gives nothing interesting. She’s so flat and lifeless.
I disagree about the McDaniel scene. Like Arlo pointed out, the typecasting of Hattie McDaniel and how she was usually seen as the mammy stereotype onscreen was an issue amply discussed at the time and the actress even defended herself against criticism from the black community, including the NAACP. That scene, to me, was more about the archetypes promoted by the filmmaking authorities of the time than a dig at McDaniel.
Later on the show, we actually get to see McDaniel and hear her express distaste at the way she is perceived as a perpetual maid by the film industry. I was actually pleased by her portrayal. The former Blues singer turned Oscar-winning actress was so often flattened by the terrible roles she was asked to play, devoid of agency onscreen, that to see her be shown as a sexual person with complex feelings about her place in Hollywood felt refreshing. Even if the industry never allowed her to show that side of herself, McDaniel had it in her to be a glamourous, desirable star with psychological complexity in meaty roles.
In any case, I may write about that later on, so I should keep my thoughts until that occasion. While I see and understand the show's faults, I confess myself charmed by it overall. Maybe that's a consequence of my negative expectations going in, but I was pleasantly surprised. Honestly, I can't believe I'm finding myself defending that most messy of showrunners, Ryan Murphy. I usually despise his stuff, like Feud and most seasons of AHS.
The Good
I really like Joe Mantello's performance, it's nuanced and complex, unlike most of the other performers (but I'm not blaming them, Murply & co aren't giving them much to do). I thought his scene with Jack Picking at the party in the third episode was quite touching. Holland Taylor is also wonderful, she's such a pro that she manages to shine and elevate her scenes every time she is on screen (unlike poor, underused Patti Lupone).
The Bad
The plot encompasses all the idiosyncrasies of Murphy's worst productions (and I thought The Politician was bad!), but unlike the lesser seasons of AHS, Nip/Tuck or Glee the first couple of episodes don't even trick us into believing that the material is decent. It's beyond nonsensical and, like Nathaniel, I wonder why they decided to blend "historical reality" with uninteresting fictional stories. I'm sure Murphy saw QT's "Once upon a time..." before he started working on this project, and even though I'm not a fan of the film, he could have learned a couple of things.
The Ugly
Sure the actors are VERY attractive but how difficult is it to shoot a convincing sex scene? They look like unexperienced teenagers pretending to have intercourse. Maybe it's their blatant lack of chemistry, or maybe I've watched too many explicit French flicks while growing up but Murphy's vision of gay sex is so polished (for lack of a better word) that I never manage to find it arousing.
everyone -- i'm very glad to hear that Hattie is better represented in a later episode but i kept hearing that the Rock Hudson take doesnt improve in that he is portrayed as dumb and lacking in talent and having actually seen several of his movies I will have to emphatically disagree.
I just think there are lots of ways to criticize Hollywood's inherently conservative nature in intelligent ways but this show feels like shallow fantasy to me as if its disregarding all notions of what people were actually up against in the 1940s in order to score easy points about things we all agree on today about racism and homophobia. I think it's very unfair to suggest that if only people had been willing to take a chance on some talented unknowns in the 1940s that everything would have been rosy. It's as if the show is unaware that there were actually laws preventing people from making these leaps. There were anti-miscegenation laws, anti-sodomy laws, no legal protection against discrimination, movie theaters that refused to show black films. Etcetera. It was a complex web of systemic biases and ways to marginalize people that wasn't just industry/based but societal and actually embedded legally. But it could have been magically solved by the casting couch and some brave aspirational Hollywood players in the era BEFORE Stonewall and the Civil Rights movement and Selma and Martin Luther King Jr and Harvey Milk and [insert several other seismic events / people here] ? er, okayyyyy.
I wish i could be less touchy about this subject and accept it for pure cotton candy fantasy but movies are my favourite thing and Hollywood history is so fascinating even when you don't make shit up.
Well, you are certainly right about it being a shallow fantasy! It feels very self-congratulatory. It’s unintelligent writing to the point that it is embarrassing. The real-life characters are sort of one-dimensional so far. I get why you would want to bail.
I guess you could say that I am hate-watching it out of a masochistic desire to see what happens.
NATHANIEL R -- As far as I'm concerned, I apologize if my comment sounded combative or like an attempt to convince you to give the show a shot. Your arguments for why it's bad are well constructed and perfectly understandable. I think I even agree with most if not all of them.
Truth be told, after reading many intelligent takedowns of "Hollywood" I'm feeling rather stupid, even reprehensible, for having enjoyed it so much. Something in its shallow surface level wish-fulfillment fantasy spoke to me, I'm embarrassed to admit.
In any case, I think your decision to give up on the thing is quite wise. Also, I can't wait to read this month's smackdowns you're working so tirelessly on. No matter how much I might have appreciated Ryan Murphy's imaginary 1947 Oscars, the '47 Best Supporting Actress Smackdown is bound to be better and have more and smarter things to say about the cinema and actresses of Hollywood's Golden Age.
cheesy
Again, stay out of this horrible show. So self-aggrandizing and cheesy!
I stay til the end only for Patti.
Out of all the bad, Jim Parsons may be the worst.
Ryan Murphy is a no-talent hack who tries to bully rock bands into getting their songs performed in Glee only for the rockers to fight back and call him out on his bullshit. I quote Channing Tatum... FUCK YOU GLEE!
I don't quite get this show, but because there is not much original TV programming on right now of interest, I am giving it a shot. I really like David Corenswet. He is very easy on the eyes but he is also a very spontaneous and interesting actor. I don't know if I would watch the show if he wasn't on it. I am also not sure what Ryan Murphy's casting process is, and I hope he does not use the "I need to blow you, it's my thing" hiring method, but that kind of degradatio for work does seem very true for the time period. Generally, the production and costumes looks great, but there is often a shallowness with Murphy's work, like he is moving around dressed up stock characters without a lot of depth or even much interest on his part in their plight. I hope he can focus more in the future.
Ugh. I have friends (and my life partner) pressuring me to watch this show, but everything I'm hearing about it makes my skin crawl. I've never developed such a prejudice against a show I haven't watched in my life, and one of my pet peeves is people who judge a movie or television show that they haven't actually watched for themselves. I actually ended a friendship partly because the guy was so self-righteously critical of films he'd never actually seen. I just couldn't deal with that aspect of his personality. But I'm pretty sure I couldn't deal with HOLLYWOOD, either.
I have only watched the first 2 episodes, but I have a Trans friend who absolutely loved it. I'm still unsure, but will follow through.
It's a damn shame that this has to be Jeremy Pope's introduction to a mass television audience. He deserves better. I'll watch it for him with the sound off.
Nathaniel, you hit the nail on the head. Rock Hudson's real story is so compelling, why the hell does Ryan Murphy think he has to come up with this absurd, inorganic premise? The man went through hell, and this could have been a dramatic sledgehammer of a series. A wasted opportunity.
'Hollywood' was quite entertaining, and I loved how it strained to fulfill its revisionist fantasies. [Spoiler!] When Ana May Wong got her Oscar, I found myself sniffing, because if only... Maybe because I'm Asian, and I felt "seen" that a fantasy corrective like this even made it to something mainstream like a Netflix show. Like Claudio, this show somehow spoke to me despite its cheesiness. There really seems to be this ingrained bias in TFE against Ryan Murphy that I find baffling and amusing.