What Just Happened

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Talk about art for Art’s sake. Art Linson is by any measure a successful and respected movie producer. His credits stretch back all the way to Car Wash, in 1976, but they also include Fast Times At Ridgemont High, The Untouchables, Heat, Fight Club and Into the Wild.

Not bad, right? But Linson’s an independent, he isn’t tied to any studio, he can’t greenlight movies or finance them himself. All he can do is foster projects and broker deals between “the talent” (the writers, directors, and the movie stars) and the backers (usually the studios). That’s what a Hollywood producer does. Which is why Linson’s only real assets are his taste, and his good relations with people like Robert De Niro (six films together), Sean Penn (five films), and David Mamet (four films).

A few years back Linson wrote a memoir, “What Just Happened: Bitter Hollywood Tales from the Front Line”. It’s an entertaining, anecdotal look behind the scenes on several of his projects, including Great Expectations, The Edge, and – most entertainingly – Fight Club.

The book wouldn’t seem like obvious movie material, even for a documentary. But Linson has opted to reuse the title for this comedy about a harried middle-aged movie producer, “Ben”, who shuttles between his ex wives, sundry studio bigwigs, agents, stars, writers and directors as he tries to get a couple more movies to the finishing line.

Ben is played by Robert De Niro. Bruce Willis plays Bruce Willis. Sean Penn plays Sean Penn. And Sean Penn’s wife, Robin Wright Penn plays Ben’s second ex. This is what the Americans call “inside baseball”, but no more so than The Player or Tropic Thunder. The difference being, those satires mustered something in the way of a story and didn’t soft-peddle the bile. It has its moments, but What Just Happened is mostly low-key, and if you can’t find it in your heart to feel sympathy for a well-heeled Hollywood big-shot then this probably isn’t the movie-movie for you.

One of Ben’s on-going headaches is “Fiercely”, a thriller in post-production directed by an arrogant, arty English punk (Michael Wincott) and starring Penn. Wincott gives a great impression of moviemaker as lout, but the joke is stretched thin because “Fiercely” doesn’t remotely resemble any movie you’ve ever seen, let alone one starring Sean Penn, and which is invited to open the Cannes film festival. If Linson and director Barry Levinson can get this much wrong, it’s hard to take anything they might have to say about the business very seriously.

That said, the Bruce Willis project is more entertaining. In this case the movie is about to start shooting – but only if Willis agrees to lose the bushy beard he’s grown specially for the part. Yes, it may be in character, but the moneymen paid for Bruce Willis, not Grizzly Adams.

The inside buzz is that this incident is based on Linson’s experience with Alec Baldwin on The Edge, in case you’re interested. Kudos to Willis for playing “himself” in a fairly unflattering light – the scene in which Ben and Bruce finally hash it out, and Willis throws the mother of all tantrums is easily the highlight of the show.

Catherine Keener is also effective as a chillingly ruthless studio head, but scenes involving Ben’s ex and his teenage daughter (Kristen Stewart) are so much sentimental pap, and a farcical turn from John Turturro as Willis’s agent feels like it belongs in a different movie.

As for De Niro, he obviously likes Linson, and this is an affectionate, relaxed portrait of a man who seemingly can’t afford affection or relaxation. Be that as it may, when you come out of What Just Happened, the answer has to be: not much.

Tom Charity
tom.charity@lovefilm.com

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Critics' Reviews

Rating of 3
stars out of 5 David Jenkins, Time Out

Barry Levinson is not a director known for his down-with-the-kids credentials, and as such has fashioned an... read more on www.timeout.com

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What just happened indeed

Eyesrsore from Glasgow [Highly rated reviewer] , 22/09/2008

I went along to see What Just Happened, which was probably the reaction of most of the audience. I've thought about it quite a bit and still don't really know what to make of it. I'm not sure at all that the makers knew what kind of film they were making. I thought the tone was all over the place, that the pacing was wildly erratic - in fact I think there's two different films in there trying to get out. I realise what they were trying to do, to make a film that shows someone with an incredibly busy life, full of stresses, trying to cope but for me it didn't work. For example, one of the first things he did was pick his two young kids, from his first wife, and take them to school. We never saw them or his first wife again. There wasn't even a reference to them in the remainder of the film.

I loved some of the scenes where he was trying to reconnect with his second wife. No spoilers, but there is a film in this alone. It just got cluttered up with ..... the clutter of the film. What was the reason for the manic scenes with Bruce Willis? He was a caricature of himself, as was the Director. The film could have done without them, it would then probably have been regarded as an 'intelligent satire ' on the film industry, instead it seems to be a film that lost it's way and ended up as drama that turned out to be a comedy or a comedy that turned out to be a drama but really is neither.

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What DID happen?

gepete80 from London [Highly rated reviewer] , 23/02/2009

De Niro reteams with Wag The Dog director Barry Levinson to take a look at the pitfalls of making a modern motion picture in today’s Hollywood. It’s a fairly standard affair as De Niros fading producer attempts to juggle his work and life commitments. Its not as satirical as their previous work, but does have its fair share of comedy, mostly around Ben’s handling of a neurotic director (Michael Wincott on a blinder) and also his molly coddling of an angry trumped up A-List star who refuses to shave off his beard (Bruce Willis as himself, although surely having a dig at Alec Baldwin).

It doesn’t really say a lot (Its hard to make a movie, but someones gotta do it), and also inexplicably wastes a talent like Stanley Tucci who has the potential to make your movie 10 times better. De Niro is front and centre though so its weird that there hardly seems to be any kind of performance from him. Ben just seems to wade through the trials and tribulations as if he’s just riding a wave which certainly doesn’t seem to fit considering he’s trying to stay in the higher echelons of Hollywoods influential elite. This also withdraws any kind of tension from the movie so even when things move from bad to worse you are still left as a non-plussed spectator.

There’s a nice turn from John Turturro as a wimpy agent but in all its not enough to really make this movie stand-up and be noticed, and I can only surmise that the idea for the film was probably a lot better on paper to those that where in the know.

What Just Happened

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