Hollywood

With so many mixed reviews I wasn't sure what to expect from Hollywood. I'm glad I did give it a chance because I really enjoyed it. It's seems like most of the negative reviews are because it changes facts from history and because there are real people being portrayed here they didn't like it. Personally, I couldn't care less as long as it's entertaining. It's not claiming to be a true story. This is another show created by the highly successful Ryan Murphy. While not his best work it's still pretty good and worth watching. It's about aspiring actors, directors, agents, etc in post World War II Hollywood who will do anything to make their dreams come true.

Hollywood whisks us away to post-war Tinseltown. Several different characters give us a behind-the-scenes look at the Golden Age of Hollywood. Through their stories, we learn more about a corrupt and unfair system full of prejudices about gender, origin and sexuality that persist to this day.

Several young artists gather as part of a film project to be realized by the Hollywood studio Ace Pictures. It is based on the tragic story of actress Peg Entwistle, who fell from the letter H of the iconic Hollywood sign in 1931. Whether actor, author or director: each of them has to pay a high price in order to be able to achieve their own goals in Hollywoodland.

I really liked "Hollywood".

A slightly different series, but for those who are interested in films and want to see how the film business worked back then, you should take a look here

The whole thing is accompanied by an interesting story and strong characters.

It started out sooo good. The first 3 episodes were great. I thought for sure this would be Oscar worthy...then, it took a hard dip by episode 4, turning into Make-A-Wish foundation, and by episode 5, it was a PSA announcement. We shut it off mid-episode 'cause we were bored, and I was calling out every plot twist before it happened it had become so predictable. It was like Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan wrote the first 3 episodes, got bored, and told their 22-year-old writer's assistants to finish the show.

I feel like Ryan Murphy is at that point in his career where he can get anything greenlit so now he's writing entirely for himself and doesn't care what the audience or his fans want. It's a shame. The writing started out so strong. Imagine the first half of this show like Glee season 1 and the second half like Glee, the final years, and you have an idea of where the writing went on this show. Too bad.

I saw the documentary that they ripped the gas station / Dreamland part of the show, and that was fun, despite they took that guy's life and probably didn't pay him. There's zero tension in the show after episode 3. It's just wish fulfillment, where everyone gets what they want, like a pre-school show for kids, so, despite the strength of the first few episodes you stop caring about the characters because you can predict everything that will happen so what's the point of seeing it? No mystery. No struggle after episode three, they suddenly magically get everything they want. There's no reason to watch until episode 7 because mid-episode 5 it's an easy guess where it's going, which we confirmed by reading reviews.

I just don't know how Murphy went from America Crime Story: Versace, to this. Such a great idea, and so magical, and it just fell apart, as if they stopped caring halfway through.

Rock Hudson was great. That was one bright spot in the show, aside from the initial writing and the production value. He was endearing and vulnerable. You really root for him, despite the show falling apart around him. And was interesting to see Jim Parsons as a villain after 12 seasons of him playing Sheldon. I'm sure he loved playing that. The entire cast is likable, it just would have been nice for them to be consistent as opposed to shifting their characters completely and unrealistically halfway though. Again, bad writing.

The creators of a mini-series have made a significant effort to demonstrate that hardly any straight men existed in Hollywood during the 1940s. While this might be true, there is an ethical dilemma. Using rumors and facts to fill the script with events that happened and using the names of real people while mixing them with wishful fantasies and lies is a lame move. It destroys the tone of the series. For instance, showing Rock Hudson coming out as gay in public in 1946 with a black boyfriend or Ernest Borgnine presenting an Oscar to a non-existent movie with a non-existent cast is unrealistic. Moreover, the series contains extended love scenes that lack gusto, eroticism, or reason, making them redundant. Despite this, six out of seven episodes are watchable. However, the last episode is full of cheesiness and lacks surprise and intensity, making it forgettable.

... this had been true?! I don't understand how so many reviewers can have missed the whole point of this series. I cringed alarmingly during the first couple of episodes, but, I was intrigued and kept watching. I am so glad that I did. I just love this! Great acting, beautiful settings and a wonderful "what if" story, very much needed in this intolerant world.

And then it becomes bitter sweet. Haven't we come further? Why? We, as humans and society has a long, long way to go which is truly worth fighting for. So, in short, this series is all about equality, love and that colour, gender or sexual orientation shouldn't matter.