Hurlyburly (1998)

“The guy who dies in an accident understands the nature of destiny.” – Eddie

Number of Times Seen – 1 (16 Nov 2021)

Brief Synopsis – Hollywood insiders try to pass the time between gigs while trying to dissect their lives and their problems.

My Take on it – While going through Meg Ryan filmograhy, this is a movie that popped out for me due to the amazing cast.

This movie features Sean Penn, Robin Wright, Kevin Spacey, Chazz Palminteri and Garry Shandling.

The dialogue is really enjoyable and these characters seem to come to life through their conversations.

Unfortunately tho, there isn’t much of a story here and that takes away from things far too much because it’s basically just two hours of a group of showbiz friend chatting about the drugs they use and their lack of or abundance of a love life.

With this kind of stellar cast, I truly expected something far more profound, but instead things just aren’t engaging enough or even interesting enough for the viewer to try and feel a connection to what is transpiring.

There are far too many scenes that drag along and seem somewhat pointless and that also hurts things a bit too much along the way.

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – Kevin Spacey asked the director for call sheets when Garry Shandling was going to be doing his scenes so that he could be there to watch. Spacey gave Shandling acting advice between takes, and at one point was even Garry’s focal point behind the camera to mimic a facial expression, which the director used in the film since it captured the moment perfectly. (From IMDB)

Rating – BAFTA Worthy (5/10)