This is a sometimes hilarious sometimes flat takeoff on the allure of
Hollywood make believe and the mystical green light of production. As a
spoof of inside customs and practices of the film industry it's a telling and
whimsical satire put together by obvious insiders. As a factory for jokes,
it varies, it wobbles, it tickles but most of all it finally brings a laugh
to theatres at a time when something comedic is sorely needed.
It's well known or, at least, widely surmised, that the teamster's local, the
union that drives the wheels of production, is mob controlled. So when
often-overlooked FBI agent Joe Devine (Alec Baldwin) suggests to his
superiors that the way to take down local mobster Tommy Sanz (Tony Shalhoub)
is to lure him into a sting operation based on the illusion of a new
Hollywood production, he's given the Bureau's green light.
Delighted by his success at pitching his law enforcement brain storm, he goes
to Hollywood where he proves to be a very quick study in what it takes to be
a producer. Setting up shop on a bus bench, he listens to a typically
bizarre stream of story ideas until he finds one he likes, written by Mann
Chinese Theatre ticket taker Steven Schats (Matthew Broderick) and titled,
"Arizona," which they wind up locationing in New Jersey (where else?). After
a swift and painless negotiation, the FBI man dazzles the young failure by
appointing him the director of the project.
Word gets around, headlines appear in the trades, and Sanz is soon drawn into
the sting by making an offer that's nothing if not pure corruption. But,
Devine isn't satisfied. He wants to use Sanz to net the bigger fish from the
east, like John Gotti himself. Plus, he's getting the hang of this producer
business, he's developed a very large taste for creative power, and has an
inside track to FBI funding.
The satire is enlivened by a steady stream of contributing talents, not least
of which is the flamboyant "star" of the production, Emily French (Toni
Collette) whose take (or takeoff) on the powers and peculiarities of actors
with an Oscar aura is a sight to behold. Joan Cusack holds a loose rein on
reality as she playfully exaggerates her erratic studio executive while
Schats' girlfriend Calista Flockhart plays the aging starlet who has to cope
with accepting a lesser role in her boyfriend's production. This is a cast
that's clearly up for it, relishing it, and delivering a flow of
tongue-in-cheek humor off Jeff Nathanson's zany writing and direction.
One of my favorite moments is when Sanz, who has negotiated his way to
becoming a co-producer of Devine's project, is interrupted by the FBI while
watching Emily French in a sex scene on cable. His eyes remain glued to the
hot action even as he's being rolled on the floor, handcuffed, and dragged
away. Picture it.
No doubt this has an element of unique appreciation for those closest to the
industry itself, but no one need stay away from the conceit of an FBI that's
vulnerable to the Hollywood dream. The idea of the tough agency becoming as
much the victim of their Hollywood sting operation as the intended criminal
target strikes a vein of farcical shine and slime. Technical contributions
are pro and a credit to the genre.
~~ Jules Brenner