Hollywood North

Rating:
Summary: Not Canada At Its Best
Review: Although I much admire Canadian humor and look forward to Canadian movies, I found this one a great disappointment. It promised to be a fine satire on both Canadian film aspirations and the absurdities of American pop culture. Instead it became an anti-American jumble of meaningless ideas.

Rating:
Summary: SLY SATIRE
Review: HOLLYWOOD NORTH looked hilarious on the trailer I saw; the whole movie however is not what I expected. It's humor lies in the satirical look at how Hollywood can mess up a movie. Matthew Modine plays quite well the producer, Bobby, who gets the rights to a huge Canadian bestseller called "Lantern Moon." However, he is told by the investors and his executive producer (Alan Thicke) that they want a Hollywood star in the lead. This leads Modine to sign the egocentric, near lunatic Michael Baytes (played to perfection by Alan Bates). Bates is wrapped up in the Iranian hostage situation (movie is set in 1979) and he becomes convinced that the Iranians are plotting against him as well. He demands a rewrite, which ultimately has nothing to do with the original "Lantern Moon." The title is changed to "Flight to Bogota" and the story centers on an American Ambassador struggling for freedom in the Colombia.
There are many other subplots going on here: Jennifer Tilly is marvelous as the nymphomaniac leading lady; John Neville is the washed up director; Deborah Kara Unger is the documentary lady who is using Modine's money to finance her own movie, without his knowledge.
Eventually the movie loses its satirical focus and morphs into an attempted slapstick ending.
It has some good moments, but doesn't reach the level of excellence it should have.


Rating:
Summary: Quite a worthy and entertaining film
Review: I disagree with the previous reviewer of this film. I would concede that Hollywood North is certainly a little jumbled in places, and certainly could have been simplified (ie. elements such as a documentary film of the making of a film which itself is the focus of the story). One element alone justifies the rating I have given it - the performance of Alan Bates as the ageing, rancorous, bigoted, paranoid, coke-snorting Hollywood star Michael Baytes. It is a brilliant portrayal, despite the limitations imposed by the script. Essentially, Hollywood North is about the results that occur when two first-time producers attempt to make a film from a classic Canadian novel in the late 1970s. In addition to Michael Baytes and his rewrites that turn the gentle story into a one-dimensional, John Wayne-style action film, these naive producers have to contend with an over the hill director (John Neville), a nymphomaniacal lead actress (Jennifer Tilly), and various other problems. It is certainly not a perfect film, but it maintains an agreeably light/comic touch.