Our Hollywood Education

Anyone who has actually worked and lived in the rarefied air of Hollywood (and I count myself among those lucky smog breathing few) knows that the business of making motion pictures does not happen at tourist spots like Graumann's Chinese Theater or on the Universal Studios Tour. The real craft of cinema occurs in plain, nondescript looking buildings scattered from Burbank to Culver City. What goes on inside those bland buildings could be a subject of intense fascination for most viewers. But in Our Hollywood Education, director Michael Beltrami clearly lacks the vision to bring anything new to the subject. Haven't we heard a million times that it's tough being a struggling actor? Is anyone surprised that this is a land where art and business are constantly at odds? Is it news to the viewer that hard work and perseverance sometimes pay off? These disparate narrative threads are as old as Hollywood clichés themselves and not woven in any meaningful way into the program. Even interviews with Oliver Stone, Paul Bartel, Glenn Ford and Sally Kirkland seem strangely uninspiring. To make matters worse, the film has a very dated feel, showing editors using Moviolas (excuse me but the business has moved forward two steps since, from tape to non linear!) and promoting films like The Rocketeer and The Doors. Dated, unfocused and rambling, this is not recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (R. Ray)