Hollywood, je t'aime

"Hollywood je t'aime" is a lot like its star, Eric Debets: pleasant to look at, but not very engaging. Essentially a movie about a gay Frenchman, Jerome (Debets), wandering around L.A. for a few weeks, "Hollywood je t'aime" has the flimsy premise that's supported many a comedy. But flimsy premises usually support a larger, if not necessarily more complex, story. When Jerome meets up with an easy-going hair stylist-turned-pot dealer (Chad Allen), "Hollywood" seems poised to become a gentle romantic comedy. But when Allen reveals he's HIV-positive and Debets meets a trannie hooker Kaleesha (Diarra Kilpatrick) and her aging drag queen benefactor Norma Desire (Michael Airington), "Hollywood" makes an abrupt turn, becoming a story about friendship and self-acceptance. Along the way Jerome has his share of misadventures (an unpleasant stay in a hostel, a misunderstanding about tipping, a painful audition), but he's also pretty lucky, getting a place to stay AND an acting job within days of arriving in La La Land. Plus, he's got an adorable pot dealer eager to get in his jeans. Yet Jerome can't seem to quit the swishy ex he left behind in Paris, the one who won't return his texts.

As several reviewers have noted, Debets is, put charitably, a low- key performer. His Jerome meets life's hardships with the sigh and shrug of someone accustomed to getting the dirty end of the stick. When something good happens (the aforementioned Chad Allen, the place to stay, the acting gig) he manages a partial smile and his step becomes a tad springy, but otherwise he's fairly indifferent to these joyful moments. Debets makes his strongest impressions during his nude scenes, including a full-frontal flash. He's perfectly suited for nude modeling; as the lead actor in a light comedy, not so much. Luckily, the supporting cast can handle the heavy lifting required of them. Kilpatrick is a bubbly presence, her Kaleesha exhibiting far more optimism than one might expect from a person turning tricks in front of a taco stand, though the actress does let some of the pain show through the cracks. Airington, who sort of resembles Bette Midler if she hadn't become a star and if she was, you know, a man, thoroughly inhabits the role of mother hen Norma, providing nuance for what could have been – and often is – the Bitter Drag Queen role. But most of the movie's energy comes from Allen, whose performance makes you wish "Hollywood" stayed on the romantic comedy path it started on. Allen makes it so easy to fall in love with him it's mind-boggling that Jerome doesn't. Perhaps this is why writer-director Jason Bushman includes a scene that has Allen rejecting the French tourist's gender-bending pals. By showing Allen's character to be a snobby a-hole, all of a sudden, we'll have an easier time swallowing Jerome's resistance to romance (or at least a roll in the hay). Otherwise, we'd have to consider Jerome is put off by Allen's HIV status. But the scene rings false, and the movie takes a bruising because of it.

To be portrayed by a man with a killer bod, it's interesting to note that Jerome, despite several offers, never gets laid – not even in a bathhouse. That kind of sums of "Hollywood je t'aime" as a whole: it's very attractive, but it never quite goes all the way.

"Hollywood J'taime" is unique in being the only French film I can think of that wasn't made by anyone French. In theme and style it well-emulates a European film, and that's a compliment.

The film is the journey of a man in Paris who has been dumped by his boyfriend and decides to chuck it all and go to Hollywoodland, USA to get over it. This all results in his finding that home is where the heart is--not an earth-shattering revelation, Dorothy Gale, but one that never grows tired or passé--in an ending that is refreshing in its unwillingness to tie up all the loose ends like a dopey sitcom, but is satisfying nonetheless.

What makes the movie so French is that the p.o.v. of the film belongs to vacationing Frenchman Jérôme, played with wonderful understatement and realism by Eric Debets (who does, in fact, bear a remarkable resemblance to Adrian Brody, a running gag). We follow Jérôme from France to LAX and beyond, seeing LA through his eyes, and to see what he sees, and how he sees it, is the primary joy of the movie. Aside from being dead-pan natural, real, and utterly "French" on-screen, Debets doesn't hold back exposing himself both theoretically and quite literally...this is a film with a gay audience in mind and as such knows there's no need to try to be otherwise; most comfortably gay males appreciate male nudity, and don't spend a lot of time sitting around discussing what it means to be gay, the problem with many films in this genre.

The director shows confidence in presenting his story without either going crazy with technique or being hobbled by budgetary limits (the opening credits are delightfully snappy). It looks far more expensive than it probably was to make, but doesn't resort to flashy gimmicks (although some may argue the slightly-beyond-R sexual scenes push that boundary--again, depends on your comfort level). It's easy to watch, the acting is above average, the characters interesting and the script feels complete. It could probably use one more edit to cut just a wee bit of fat around the edges, particularly in the 3rd act when Jérôme looks for a "real" job in a restaurant. Jérôme verges on unsympathetic at times for his bad planning (he seems too old for some of the dumb choices he makes) and the plot suffers occasionally when it resorts to contrivance and coincidence, but it is, after all, a movie. I also found myself wanting to know more background on most of the characters, who seem to appear on cue and disappear as needed. However, things never become insufferable in depicting drag queens with hearts of gold or gorgeous guys throwing themselves at someone just because the script requires it, like many similar films in the same category. And the somewhat-open ending is, again, satisfying and very "true" to what has come before.

What really sets this one apart is its depiction of the "real" Hollywood...this is literally a snapshot of the popular Silver Lake-to-Santa Monica stretch of LA area as it is/was in 2009; one can almost smell the grit on the sidewalks or feel the dry heat. I say that being a resident who recognized every block used as a location. It's one view among many, and not pretty, but it's an accurate one, and should be required viewing for anyone (gay) who is thinking of dropping everything and coming to Hollywood with the idea that it is a "dream factory," something that still happens quite frequently. Similarly, the film is remarkable, being made by Americans, in portraying the US from the perspective of a person from France, and captures the European-out-of-water in LA scenario, which is very common here, quite well (It's too bad Jérôme didn't take the bus to Venice Beach instead, it may have been a whole different movie).

Congratulations to cast and crew on a job well done and kudos well-earned, and a film that goes down like a fine French wine to those interested in the subject matter. I'll definitely be on the lookout for a sequel, and I'm glad we're living in times when movies like this can be made.

Why i Can't watch the full movie,and all i can see is trailer even the other movies, trailers only. Why, how can i watch the full movie.

Wow... really a hidden gem, this film.... I bumped into it by accident, here in 2023... while the film is from 2009. Eric Debets carries the film with his subtle sensitive acting... but I have to say that the majority of the other roles are excellent also... Michael Arrington and Diarra Kilpatrick are hitting a homerun.... we get to see Hollywood for how it is. Not a glamorous well lit, beautifully filtered town.... but the concrete, palm tree-ed, car filled town it really is.... but with a focus on the people who inhabit this town full of actors and other poor people hoping to get a shot in this hard world of industrial cinema. Friends are important, human relations are important.... but just as important is the city in which these human connections exist... Hollywood is made out of cheap concrete, polluting cars, lots of underpaid people looking for better lives. Paris in this sense has more to offer. The main character Jerôme has a small life also in Paris, with a tiny apartment, but the city itself is more breathable, it is walkable, and more human. I really loved this film. Again, Eric Debets really takes you with him with his subtle, calm, sensitive acting. He would have been very good also in silent movies. A good actor knows how to express emotions without words, how to be a mime artist really. With an even bigger budget this could have become a more mainstream film, like you had the Australian film 'The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert' from 1994, made 15 years prior to Hollywood, je t'aime. They should have made a second part: Paris je t'aime where Norma and and Kaleesha would have visited Paris, and live in it like forever? The actors were perfectly cast: Norma, Kaleesha and Jerôme felt real. I'm missing them already :-D. Lovely film ...

This film is about a gay French man trying to heal his heartbreak by going to Hollywood to become an actor.

"Hollywood, Je T'aime" is not just a lighthearted colourful popcorn comedy that the cover suggests. There is humour but also some food for thought. It looks at a heartbroken guy's disillusionment with the Hollywood glamour, and ultimately finds out the hard way that streets in Hollywood are not paved with gold. He has to answer the question, whether he loves Hollywood or not.

Acting wise, Chad Allen does a great job as a HIV positive drug dealer, while Eric Debets is memorable as a person who cannot act in the audition scene. If the editing is tighter, then "Hollywood, Je T'aime" would have been even more enjoyable.