What Just Happened

Synopsis: Ben (De Niro) is a Hollywood A-list producer whose latest picture, Fiercely, has been given the thumbs down by studio boss, Lou Tarnow (Catherine Keener). Meanwhile, another of his projects is in trouble with its star Bruce Willis refusing to shave off his “grizzly” beard. And he’s trying to come to terms with his break-up with his ex-wife, Kelly (Robin Wright Penn).

They say there are two questions punters ask when they stroll up to the box office looking for a film to while away their idle time. The first is: “Who’s in it?” The second is: “What’s it about?”  Given this, What Just Happened should do good business. It’s got a great cast of popular Hollywood actors, from Sean Penn to John Turturro. And it's about making movies – always a intriguing subject, but with this cast even more so. .

Levinson’s film, based on the memoirs of producer Art Linson, who also wrote the script, is half-way good as a satire on Hollywood made by some well-credentialled insiders. The trouble is that that’s as far as it goes. Half-way. As satire What Just Happened feels too tame, as if no-one involved really wanted to bite the hand that fed them which is, rather ironically, consistent with the characters in the film (with the exception of a drug-wasted English director, a pointedly non-Hollywood individual).

There are some dryly amusing moments and De Niro is in good form as the harried producer trying to keep his beleaguered ship afloat, but his is the only character that the film bothers to develop to any extent (he was also a co-producer) and it schleps through a grab-bag of set-ups that eventually peter out without any perceptible pay-off. Michael Wincott is droll as the over-emotional director, as is a running gag about John Turturro’s stomach disorder, and Sean Penn lampoons his reputation as an edgy actor but it’s piecemeal stuff that never really amounts to much.  A good joke about Bruce Willis’s beard is worn paper thin and one about an argyle sock simply evaporates. As usual, Robin Wright Penn is wasted in a role that only calls for her good looks whilst Catherine Keener might not have the looks but she fares little better as a tough-talking studio executive in what is a male-dominated film (once again, consistent with a male-dominated industry).

What Just Happened is a slickly-made effort and will be entertaining enough as a DVD rental. .

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