The Player
1992 Directed by Robert Altman
Synopsis
A studio executive is being blackmailed by a writer whose script he rejected but which one? Loaded with Hollywood insider jokes.
Cast
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Experiencing an emotional lower point in the last few days, I was looking for something different to try and jolt me back to life. Going through my usual process of selection, my eyes caught a glimpse of The Player, a movie that I had always heard about but never got around to sit down and watch, just like the rest of Robert Altman's work. Betting on its reputation of being smart and innovative, I decided to give it a shot. Did it do the trick? The short answer would be 'no'. Even so, I can see why this movie gets so much praise: it's not every day we see a production that takes a jab at its own industry, especially…
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The Player is both brilliant satire of Hollywood and a impassioned love letter to movies. Robert Altman takes the sleazy nature of Hollywood and turns it into one of the finest neo-noirs. Crafting a world of greed and moral repression with visual mastery and a great script - written by Michael Tolkin, an adaptation of his novel of the same name - that has an affectionate knowledge of the language. Altman returns to studio filmmaking by taking good-natured stabs at it. While he is criticizing the factory style in which films are churned out, he is also embracing a long history of great movies that have been made under the one basic principle that Hollywood has lived by since the…
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This review reportedly contains spoilers. I can handle the truth.
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Take this for a scenario, a movie executive and his new love interest have a conversation at a secluded resort. The woman has recently lost her boyfriend in a killing because he was sending death-threatening postcards to the hot-shot exec who rejected this man's story pitch. Both men's situation escalated to boiling point and it got out of hand. On the couple's escapade, she asks what required elements are needed to market a film successfully. He responds with "suspense, laughter, violence, hope, heart, nudity, sex. Happy endings." This is just one of the brilliantly clever moments in Altman's The Player which embraces Hollywood stereotypes by treating artists poorly and sacrificing quality for commercial success. This film is not only a…
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One of those movies that you can't believe you've never heard of before. Funny, exciting while also providing one of the most insightful looks into the Hollywood film industry.
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Brilliant, hilarious, and clever Hollywood satire. Might be the very best Hollywood satire out there. It's certainly my favorite. Terrific cast with a smart script. Must see for movie lovers as well as those who plan to break into the filmmaking industry. As a wannabe director, after seeing the going on's of Hollywood, this honestly made me think twice. Hollywood really is a shady place.
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Experiencing an emotional lower point in the last few days, I was looking for something different to try and jolt me back to life. Going through my usual process of selection, my eyes caught a glimpse of The Player, a movie that I had always heard about but never got around to sit down and watch, just like the rest of Robert Altman's work. Betting on its reputation of being smart and innovative, I decided to give it a shot. Did it do the trick? The short answer would be 'no'. Even so, I can see why this movie gets so much praise: it's not every day we see a production that takes a jab at its own industry, especially…
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Clever enough in its construction to make me look past how much Robbins bores me.
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It's time we gave proper respect to the star of this movie: Michael Tolkin's amazing script. It's an L.A. crime noir, a Hollywood satire, a postmodernist romance, and yet most people remember it as stunt casting, "the movie with all the star cameos". Don't disrespect the writer of a film about disrespecting writers!
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Another one I had seen before but didn’t remember jack about it. It’s on the list though, and I didn’t feel comfortable giving myself credit when all I could recall was Tim Robbins in double breasted suits and something to do with Hollywood. Same thing with Short Cuts, which I plan to revisit soon. I guess Altman films just don’t stick with me. Either I can’t remember them, or I hate them (e.g. Nashville, The Long Goodbye). Well, I guess I did like M.A.S.H.
Anyway.
This one wasn’t so bad, quite funny and dark. Some of the jokes are hilarious and smart. But I can’t go as far to say I really liked it. I’m starting to think I don’t have the kind of brain that can appreciate flippant cynicism… Boy, am I lame.
Still, yes, one of the best opening scenes ever.
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The Player ropes you in with suspense, laughter, violence, hope, heart, nudity, sex, and a happy ending. Then it makes you feel like an idiot for ever having wanted suspense, laughter, violence, hope, heart, nudity, sex, and a happy ending in the first place.
So yeah. It's pretty clever or whatever.
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"Happy Endings...Mainly Happy Endings"
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Why It’s Essential — A return to form for Robert Altman that, in skewering the film industry, hit upon a critical sweet spot.
Why You’ll Want to Skip It — The criticism of the viewing public, coupled with jokes pitched solely to Hollywood insiders, can come across as self-satisfied and smug.
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Second viewing.
The Player is a very strong film with a few flaws that are made up for by constant movie references.
My full thoughts here:
www.everyrobertaltmanmovie.blogspot.ca/2013/03/the-player-1992.html -
Traffic was a bitch!