Ryan Murphy's "Hollywood" Episodes 3 and 4
Friday, May 8, 2020 at 4:30PM by Eric Blume
I think we're getting ahead of ourselves, it's just a screen test.
We’ll wrap up our coverage of Ryan Murphy’s Hollywood very soon. Before I turn it over to Claudio for a wrap on the last three episodes, let’s do our Good/Bad/Ugly look at Episodes 3 and "Outlaws" and four "(Screen) Tests" after the jump...
THE GOOD
Intention. After a breezy first episode, Hollywood really did take the typical Murphy nosedive even earlier than expected. But let's at least honor good intentions from the creative time. Their goal (and they spell it out for you verbatim) was to show how important screen representation is, and the contribution it can make to culture and society. There is an execution of this idea that really could have been provocative, interesting, surprising, and even transcendent in the right hands. Unfortunately, that's not what we get: where you need delicacy, you get sledgehammers; where you need poetry, you get (bad) prose; where you need grace, you get stiffness...
Corenswet and McDermott. Two actors who were strong out of the gate in episode 1 and maintain their momentum through are our lead David Cornswet and, in a small role, Dylan McDermott. Their performances both feel modulated to the final product...
Their acting never becomes self-important, and they stay light on their feet, and even find moments of inspiration within the narrow confines of their roles. Both actors have charisma to spare, a refined technique, and some glee in what they’re doing.
THE BAD
The writing. Wow, it’s hard to find another example of writing as on-the-nose as what we have in these episodes. Every character tells you exactly what they’re feeling, what they’re struggling with, and how it ties back into the themes of the show. It’s impossible for the actors to find any subtext or shading, because everything is out there in the open.
The acting. At some point, watching the show becomes almost a fun game of “who is giving the worst performance?”. Granted, there are a little over a handful of actors who don’t embarrass themselves (David Cornswett and Dylan McDermott were strong out of the gate and mantain a light touch, plus Jeremy Pope, Joe Mantello, Darren Criss, and Holland Taylor. And it’s nice to see Mira Sorvino again in a small role, where we see a few flashes of why she was briefly a movie star.) But the majority of the actors are doing prison-term-worthy work here. Jim Parsons and Patti LuPone engage in depressingly selfish work in roles crafted to make them shine… they are arguably the show’s nadir. The ingenue ladies, Laura Harrier and Samara Weaving, neither helped by the script, flail inauthentically in their scenes. Rob Reiner is pure cured ham, and not even in a particularly fun way. It’ll be interesting to see if any of these actors score Emmy nominations this summer… if so, it’s on name value, because their acting is … not good.
THE UGLY
The pool party. The George Cukor pool party in Episode 3 features a smattering of ass, cock, and balls… but because nothing in this show is shot with a point-of-view, there’s no sexiness or beauty to the nudity. It's merely present, ultimately shot very coyly, and there to provide a feeling of vague titillation, which is a pretty crappy feeling to want to induce. The dialogue surrounding the pool party claims how wonderful it would be for closeted gay men to have an event like this, but then when we see it, there’s no wonder or passion or erotic energy. It’s emblematic of the show: it thinks it’s being daring when it’s actually just base and juvenile.
Rock Hudson. The conception of the Rock Hudson role proves truly bizarre. It's true that Hudson was not a trained actor and notorious early in his career for not remembering his lines. He was a Hollywood product, albeit one who grew to be a solid actor and huge movie star. But the way the character is written, they’ve made him cruelly dumb. There’s a way to project this man’s naivete and true sweetness without making him look so stupid. You can tell that actor Jake Picking is trying to play Rock with a positive spin, but the production undercuts him, leaving you without warm feelings for either Hudson or Picking.
THE NOT-SO-UGLY
Jake Picking. If there’s anyone that stands out in these two episodes on the beauty factor, it is indeed Jake Picking. He looks absolutely smashing in the super tight sweaters they give him (and of course looks just as impressive out of them). Despite being over halfway through the series at this point, I don’t have a sense of whether Picking has any talent as an actor or not, but he’s a captivating camera subject.
What do you make of that pool party? How would you rate those screen tests?
Reader Comments (17)
After the final episode I think an Emmy nom for Jeremy Pope would be really deserved...but also the win actually
*Waiting for Rock Hudson's estate to file suit against Ryan Murphy*
Joe Mantello deserves an Emmy! I wonder how many viewers know who Rory Calhoun and Guy Madison are. And that the characters played by McDermott and Parsons actually existed.
Joe Mantello is my fave of the ensemble. He has a beautiful, heartbreaking scene with Holland Taylor in the final stretch that should win him the Emmy. Jeremy Pope is a star, and I look forward to seeing him in more things in the future (if there’s any justice in this world). David Corenswet is so, so pretty; his hold over me is upsetting in the best way.
Who is Jake Cornswet? Wake up, Pearl
Like other Ryan Murphy shows, it started out fine enough and then with each succeeding episode.I grew to detest it.
I agree about most of the performances, with the exception of Samara Weaving who I think is doing a good job with what she's given to play. She's certainly better than Laura Harrier, who is lovely, but just is barely registering with me at all beyond being incredibly beautiful.
Count me as another fan of Joe Mantello's work on the show. He and Jeremy Pope are the MVPs of the show for me. Mira Sorvino is also lovely.
I am still hanging on but it’s good there are only 7 episodes! It’s true - imagine if it was Streep and Andrew Scott instead of Lupone and Parsons, and it was a great script. It could have been amazing but live to dream. I did enjoy seeing the shots of Meg in black and white. Aesthetically, those scenes showing the results of their work in the final movie are very pleasing. I think David Corenswet is a good investment for future stardom. Very likable actor.
I have a single (vaguely spoilerish) question - will Nathaniel be forced to review Episode 7?
How did Ryan Murphy decide which 4 nominees stayed and who got booted? I want a FORENSIC examination even though this compelling mess of a show deserves nothing of the sort!!!!
Also, agreed that Mantello, Pope, Taylor and Sorvino are the MVPs and should be the ones reaping any Emmy nominations...
That said, I feel it’s much more likely that Parsons and LuPone will be the ones recognised (baity role seems to supersede nuanced and believable portrayal of said role at all awards shows)
kermit_the_frog -- I'll talk a bit about that in my recap of the last three episodes. I found it fascinating what nominees got booted off to make space for the fictional ones. I wonder what the thought process was behind it.
Agree on Harrier : lovely to look at but absolutely does not register in this role. When virtually all of the characters believe and say she is the only one who can play Meg, there is absolutely no evidence to support this based on Harrier's lackluster performance.
I do wonder why Murphy didn't choose to just tell the real stories of Dorothy Dandridge and Rock Hudson... They're much more interesting than what we got in this series.
I appreciate this as complete and utter revisionist fantasy. It's executed sloppily and inconsistently, but for me, it tapped into the same area that Inglorious Basterds did when they showed Hitler brutally executed on a much smaller scale of influence: it shows us a wrong that is stopped, a wrong that has the potential to be made right, a tinge of hope for the path ahead.
I also appreciate how kind the characters turn out to be, for the most part. So many of the main characters end up making the right decisions, or reconsider their previous decisions.
That said, it is sadly still not a good show. I powered through fueled mainly with wish fulfillment and fantasy, but boy it was TOUGH.
The Emmys will be better off without this series, not even for Patti, Holland or Joe, whom I like in it.
Some people are actually complaining that there is NOT enough representation in this series!
How they portray Rock Hudson was a big question mark while watching this show. I somewhat expected it was some kind of set up for a later change in their depiction that would wow us, but no. They decided to go for the plain dumb.
The other big question mark for me is the actress playing Camille-playing Meg. By far, the weakest link in the ensemble playing precisely the character they're all (and we) rooting for. It's just impossible.
Most of the main characters are so poorly written, they're barely ideas put into (big) words.
I agree with Eric's take on the show overall and his choices for good acting. However, not being particularly enamored by Jake Picking's looks I was able to get a sense of whether or not he has any acting talent (spoiler alert: he doesn't!), I also thought Samara Weaving was pretty broad and cliched in her performance. Dylan McDermott's was cartoonish, but having seen the Scotty Bowers doc that does seem to be an accurate portrayal rather than a bad choice on the actor's part.