Synopsis:A down-on-his luck auteur gets one more chance at the big time -- provided his neuroses don't swallow him whole -- in Woody Allen's 33rd feature release, Hollywood Ending. Allen plays Val Waxman, a one-time cinematic genius who's resorted to taking advertisement work to pay the bills for himself and his airhead live-in girlfriend, Lori (Debra Messing). Val finds his luck is about to change, however, when he receives the script for The City Never Sleeps, a period noir set against the backdrop of
1940s New York City. It seems his ex-wife, Ellie (Tea Leoni), now an executive at Galaxy Pictures, has been pulling for him to direct the picture, claiming he's the only man who can do justice to the script. She even manages to convince her boyfriend, Hal (Treat Williams), Galaxy's high-powered studio head, to take a chance on Val's "unique vision." Just when the cameras are ready to roll, however, Val finds that unique vision in jeopardy -- literally -- as he's struck with a psychosomatic case of blindness. When physicians and psychiatrists fail to cure him, Val contrives a scheme to forge ahead with the picture, for fear of blowing his one last chance at greatness. Hollywood Ending co-stars George Hamilton and Mark Rydell. ~ Michael Hastings, Rovi
Critic Reviews
Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune
The premise may be outrageous, but the film is full of witty lines, delightful scenes and sharp performances.
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Bill Muller, Arizona Republic
It lacks critical mass and droops in the middle like a worn-out saddle horse.
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Woody Allen can write and deliver a one liner as well as anybody. But I had a lot of problems with this movie.
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Peter Rainer, New York Magazine
[Allen's] been making piffle for a long while, and Hollywood Ending may be his way of saying that piffle is all that the airhead movie business deserves from him right now.
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