Hollywood North

In 1979, a young producer north of the border (Matthew Modine) takes advantage of the Ottawa government's generous tax subsidies to the movie industry to launch a project--a filmization of a beloved novel called Lantern Moon, about an idealistic Canadian who goes to Castro's Cuba to teach children to read. But compromise is required to get the picture off the ground. Before long the title has become Last Flight from Bogota, the teacher is transformed into a sultry seductress (Jennifer Tilly) who cavorts with a hot rebel leader, and the figure of an American ambassador is created for a bankable Hollywood star--right-wing nutcase Michael Baytes (the late Alan Bates, chewing the scenery mercilessly), who suspects Iranian spies everywhere (it's the time of the hostage crisis) and grows increasingly uncontrollable as filming proceeds. While there's a kernel of a funny movie in this attempted satire on filmmaking, the execution is uncertain, with most of the picture flaccid and occasional episodes played grossly over-the-top by a cast that never finds the right tone (with the exception of the quiet eccentricity of John Neville as the movie's has-been director). Not recommended. (F. Swietek)