Review of What Just Happened (2008) by Sv G — 08 May 2009

I despised the movie "What Just Happened". It was a ridiculous take on the shady politics and unethical practices of the major motion picture industry. The film's star Robert De Niro has never had any real talent as an actor, and he proves it once again in this performance.

Director Barry Levinson has never helmed a praiseworthy movie in his overrated career. Wait! Wait! Wait! What Just Happened!!! I repeat, What Just Happened!! That was not me writing those atrocious viewpoints of the immensely entertainment flick "What Just Happened".

I do not know what happened there! I know one thing that is happening: "What Just Happened" is a happening "movie within a movie" effectively capturing a two-week period of a movie producer's ordeals & dilemmas, in and out of the Hollywood business court.

Robert De Niro stars as movie producer Ben. Big Ben has made some big bucks in his career, but the film's narrative sees Ben struggling with a couple of movie projects. One is a "in the can" movie entitled "Fiercely" starring Sean Penn; I wonder how Penn milked that one through.

"Fiercely" is shown at a movie test screening, and it turned out that the audience fiercely hated it; due to the fact of its very Vicklike ending of having a dog shot to death. The director of "Fiercely" is Jeremy Brunell portrayed stunningly by Michael Wincott.

Brunell is a bohemian auteur renegade who refuses to alter his "doggone" ending even when pressured to do so by the movie studio boss Lou; which by the way is another stellar performance by super thespianette Catherine Keener.

The other Ben product is on a recently greenlighted movie starring the Bruce! Willis, that is! Willis gets into a hairy situation with Ben because he refuses to shave his "Grizzly Adams" for the movie.

Seeing Bruce Willis poking fun of a successful actor's archetype egocentric demands and disrespect for movie producers was simply to die hard for! Bruce Willis was awesome playing a somewhat real or unreal Bruce Willis.

John Turturro was far from gutless playing stomach-aching neurotic agent Dick Bell, and Stanley Tucci turned out a well-pitched performance as screenwriter pitchman Scott Solomon. And let me not forget the hottest Penn of the movie (that would not be Sean; you think I turned Milk on you.

) It would be Robin Wright Penn portraying Ben's ex-wife Kelly. Ben and Kelly both see a therapist so they can move on with their separate lives without lingering romantic feelings. Ben has two small children with Kelly, and teenager Zoe with his first wife.

Kristen Stewart plays Zoe with restrained adequacy, but is far from being the twilight acting moment of her young career. But the supreme raging bull of "What Just Happened" is De Niro himself! His performance as Ben, believe it or not, happens to be one of the best in his acclaimed career! One gets so unraveled in the character that you forget is De Niro himself playing a movie producer, and that is an effect that is very challenging to produce.

De Niro earned all the dinero he got for his performance! Director Barry Levinson orchestrated "What Just Happened" with "it is money" producing results. "What Just Happened" would have never happened if it was not because of real life movie producer Art Linson's book based on his trials & tribulation experiences in the "what have you done for me lately?" movie business.

His artistic contributions to "'What Just Happened" did not cease there, because he also wrote the film's highbrow screenplay. "What Just Happened" you ask then! It is time for you to make it happen and take a DVD screening of "What Just Happened".

One of the best of 2008! *****Excellent.