by Eric Blume
I think we're getting ahead of ourselves, it's just a screen test.
We’ll wrap up our coverage of Ryan Murphy’s Hollywood very soon. Before I turn it over to Claudio for a wrap on the last three episodes, let’s do our Good/Bad/Ugly look at Episodes 3 and "Outlaws" and four "(Screen) Tests" after the jump...
THE GOOD
Intention. After a breezy first episode, Hollywood really did take the typical Murphy nosedive even earlier than expected. But let's at least honor good intentions from the creative time. Their goal (and they spell it out for you verbatim) was to show how important screen representation is, and the contribution it can make to culture and society. There is an execution of this idea that really could have been provocative, interesting, surprising, and even transcendent in the right hands. Unfortunately, that's not what we get: where you need delicacy, you get sledgehammers; where you need poetry, you get (bad) prose; where you need grace, you get stiffness...
Corenswet and McDermott. Two actors who were strong out of the gate in episode 1 and maintain their momentum through are our lead David Cornswet and, in a small role, Dylan McDermott. Their performances both feel modulated to the final product...
Their acting never becomes self-important, and they stay light on their feet, and even find moments of inspiration within the narrow confines of their roles. Both actors have charisma to spare, a refined technique, and some glee in what they’re doing.
THE BAD
The writing. Wow, it’s hard to find another example of writing as on-the-nose as what we have in these episodes. Every character tells you exactly what they’re feeling, what they’re struggling with, and how it ties back into the themes of the show. It’s impossible for the actors to find any subtext or shading, because everything is out there in the open.
The acting. At some point, watching the show becomes almost a fun game of “who is giving the worst performance?”. Granted, there are a little over a handful of actors who don’t embarrass themselves (David Cornswett and Dylan McDermott were strong out of the gate and mantain a light touch, plus Jeremy Pope, Joe Mantello, Darren Criss, and Holland Taylor. And it’s nice to see Mira Sorvino again in a small role, where we see a few flashes of why she was briefly a movie star.) But the majority of the actors are doing prison-term-worthy work here. Jim Parsons and Patti LuPone engage in depressingly selfish work in roles crafted to make them shine… they are arguably the show’s nadir. The ingenue ladies, Laura Harrier and Samara Weaving, neither helped by the script, flail inauthentically in their scenes. Rob Reiner is pure cured ham, and not even in a particularly fun way. It’ll be interesting to see if any of these actors score Emmy nominations this summer… if so, it’s on name value, because their acting is … not good.
THE UGLY
The pool party. The George Cukor pool party in Episode 3 features a smattering of ass, cock, and balls… but because nothing in this show is shot with a point-of-view, there’s no sexiness or beauty to the nudity. It's merely present, ultimately shot very coyly, and there to provide a feeling of vague titillation, which is a pretty crappy feeling to want to induce. The dialogue surrounding the pool party claims how wonderful it would be for closeted gay men to have an event like this, but then when we see it, there’s no wonder or passion or erotic energy. It’s emblematic of the show: it thinks it’s being daring when it’s actually just base and juvenile.
Rock Hudson. The conception of the Rock Hudson role proves truly bizarre. It's true that Hudson was not a trained actor and notorious early in his career for not remembering his lines. He was a Hollywood product, albeit one who grew to be a solid actor and huge movie star. But the way the character is written, they’ve made him cruelly dumb. There’s a way to project this man’s naivete and true sweetness without making him look so stupid. You can tell that actor Jake Picking is trying to play Rock with a positive spin, but the production undercuts him, leaving you without warm feelings for either Hudson or Picking.
THE NOT-SO-UGLY
Jake Picking. If there’s anyone that stands out in these two episodes on the beauty factor, it is indeed Jake Picking. He looks absolutely smashing in the super tight sweaters they give him (and of course looks just as impressive out of them). Despite being over halfway through the series at this point, I don’t have a sense of whether Picking has any talent as an actor or not, but he’s a captivating camera subject.
What do you make of that pool party? How would you rate those screen tests?