Unless you're part of a very small minority, you have probably never heard of or seen the 1994 Barry Levinson film Jimmy Hollywood starring Christian Slater and Joe Pesci. There's a reason for that: it is arguably one of the least redeemable movies ever made. The plot is hard to follow, the characters are confusing and ill-motivated, and the mix of unsuccessful comedy and unearned drama make it painful to watch.
Jimmy Hollywood is played by Joe Pesci. He's an out of work actor so deep in denial about his talent or prospects that he fails to seem like a real person. This isn't really Pesci's fault; no one could do anything with this role. The pathetic, lying-to-himself character can be funny when written well and with compassion. This was not done here. It's all just too over the top.
Christian Slater plays Jimmy's best friend Will. Slater's character has some undefined mental problem that gives him a short memory span and a low IQ. It's unexplained how they know each other or why they're friends. For the first 45 or 50 minutes of the movie, Pesci's character struggles to get his big break as an actor. When he finally lands a role, he's crushed when he loses it before the first day of shooting.
If you have made it to minute 50 or so, you'll be rewarded with the beginning of the story. Jimmy and Slater's character use a video camera to catch the thief who stole Jimmy's car radio. When they turn the thief in with video proof, the police let him go and decry the vigilantism. Frustrated, Jimmy takes on his biggest role yet: that of Jericho, leader of S.O.S., the vigilante crime fighting organization Jimmy compares to Hezbollah. I didn't really understand the multiple references to Hezbollah, but perhaps other viewers will. I'm not holding my breath though.
Jimmy and Will videotape some more criminals, turn them in, get the fame they always wanted. Jimmy acts, I guess. The cops start catching on to them as the crimes they catch on tape become more and more serious. Jimmy has some sort of romantic subplot with a woman who inexplicably loves him. It's really not explained why they are together. Many vague references are made to Christian Slater's character's father, but nothing comes of it. Gone With the Wind is referenced a lot, but I'm not sure to what end. There's a car chase.
If this sounds like a list of random events with no logic or building momentum, you're getting the idea. I don't think I have the ability or patience to fully communicate the pain one feels while drifting through watching this movie.
Other things that happen as the story stumbles on: Christian Slater wears a dumb hat. Joe Pesci says “the sun is coming up” when it's clearly been light out for hours. There are themes about crime and justice. I think the movie has a moral thesis, but I couldn't quite parse the lesson it was trying to teach. The movie just keeps going towards a conclusion that includes a standoff in a movie theater. (Yes, it's that deep.)
It gets very deep and dramatic towards the end, and the problem with that is the ideas, characters and events in the story leading up to it are so far from reality that you can't be concerned with the outcome. It goes on for an hour and 57 minutes, and it is painful almost the whole time.
However, Harrison Ford has a cameo as himself at the end. It doesn't redeem anything, but it's more interesting than anything else in the film. I would love to know what happened with this movie, and how a group of clearly talented people produced this. Barry Levinson is the biggest shock: he later went on to direct Wag the Dog, which probably is thematically and comedically the movie he wanted to but failed to make with Jimmy Hollywood. Can't win 'em all.
Blu-ray Bonus Features
No special features other than some trailers for other Lionsgate releases.
"Jimmy Hollywood" is on sale July 6, 2010 and is rated R. Comedy. Written and directed by Barry Levinson. Starring Christian Slater, Harrison Ford, Joe Pesci.
