Hollywood North

There's no doubt that the Canadian tax shelter filmmaking era could be satirized, but this movie doesn't support that. The movie doesn't really go into depth about the system - I suspect that many viewers (even Canadian) won't know anything about the era, and will be confused by some parts of the movie. (I was fortunate enough to know about the era and the Canadian film industry, so I was able to understand these parts.) Part of this can be blamed on the frequent hurried and rushed feeling of the movie - there is long narration at the beginning instead of showing us what the narrator tells us, for one thing. Movie has a poor sense of time - you never feel this is 1979, and at one point, snow starts falling in the area but later the events of the movie are happening in the late summer! What really sinks the movie are the portrayal of most of the characters. They are thin, but for the most part they are so goofy we can't believe what they do. The few characters that stay serious are good (John Neville does well as the past-his-prime director character), and we see that a movie that would have been more serious and done things that COULD and DID happen would be more engaging (and would probably be a lot more funny.) The movie is also hampered by a low budget that gives the movie a murky and dark look.

From the closing credits, it appears that the Canadian government (via the Telefilm Canada film funding agency) financed this movie. This movie is just one example of the millions of dollars Telefilm has spent in financing bad movies no one wants to see. What the Canadian industry really needs is a movie that will savagely attack Telefilm and its questionable practices.

Hollywood North's storyline was good (A producer buys the film rights of a

famous Canadian novel known as "Latern Moon" and plans the production, but

everything doesn't go according to plan when Hollywood gets involved and the

documentary filmmaker catches the whole debacle of film.) and the film had

much potential, but most of the acting lacked depth. Hence, the characters were not believable and flat. Unfortunately, they spent a lot of money making a film that did not make very much money in he end. The actor in it that did a great job was Kim Coates.

It's 1979. Newbie Toronto movie producer Bobby Myers (Matthew Modine) options a Canadian book hoping to make a Canadian movie based in Toronto. He's told to get an American movie star lead and heads off to Hollywood. It's Hollyweird and he's forced to compromise at every turn.

This is a movie about 70's Hollywood and the inferior complex in Toronto. This is a moment in time as the film industry morphs into something different in the 80's. This is trying to be a satire. The problem is that it's not actually funny. It's a little tiresome. The mockumentary isn't actually interesting. Modine is a functional movie lead. In a way, he's the American lead in a movie about Canadian film industry. It's meta but it's not funny and therefore it's not compelling. For a comedy, there are few comedians here. At best, there are a couple of comedic actors. It's all rather flat.

"Hollywood North" is an euphemism from the movie industry as they went to Canada to make movies because of tax breaks and cheaper costs in a civilized city like Toronto, in this case, later in Vancouver. Peter O'Brian, the director, probably saw a lot of the invaders from California that this movie seems to be the right way to deal with the arriving personalities trying to capitalize on the economics that Canada presented.

Needless to say, "Moon Lantern", the successful novel written by a Canadian author is turned into "Flight to Bogota", which has nothing to do with the original film. A great egotistical has-been, Michael Baytes, who is obsessed with what is happening in Iran, is offered the lead part, which turns to be a disaster.

The film seems to be saying that too many cooks have spoiled the broth, which seems to be the case with the ultimate product, which is saved by its producer, Bobby Myers. With the help of Sandy Ryan, who has been around making a documentary of the film being shot in Toronto, parts of the film are transformed into a cohesive movie at last.

The filming process is hilarious, and the acting, in general, is good.

From start to finish, this little flick about big time film making in 1979 Toronto is a riot. The cast is simply perfect. The dialouge "tongue in cheek". The angst and humor on high. Anyone interested in the Hollywood "machine", whether it be in California or with our northern neighbor will get a kick out of this satirical look at what happens behind the scene's when making a movie.



Though I did look at it as more a satire on the "Good Ole' Boys" club that is ever present in Hollywood and beyond. 8 out of 10, easily. Lots of fun, lots of laughs and Jennifer Tilly/Alan Bates/Fab Filippo are a GREAT one-two-three punch!