Hollywood North

This movie captures the absurd essence of an overbearing American patriot actor -- one that believes his work (and politics) are as crucial to the American people as the opinions of the President himself. Alan Bates captures this mindset perfectly as Michael Baytes, and I will immortally remember Bates as this character. This is a movie for Canadians and Americans alike. It is a valuable piece of cinema, that which is able to take its audience through the magic of making a film and reveal just how easy it is for the producer and director to lose complete control to the will of the actors and innumerable outside forces. Wonderfully, "Hollywood North" does not suffer from the subject that it portrays: Peter O'Brian directs with precision and complete control, and commands both the serious 'behind-the-scenes' portion of the movie, and the movie-within-the-movie, "Flight to Bogota" with clarity and insight. If you are at all interested in the wit and strength of Canadian cinema, "Hollywood North" is a great place to start.

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!

A mock documentary about a pair of Canadian producers, Bobby Myers (Matthew Modine) and Paul Linder (Saul Rubinek), trying to make their first film in the late 1970s. Hollywood North is the comic tale of their struggle to pull everything together, despite a number of conflicting threads.

Hollywood North works as a film in a way very similar to why This Is Spinal Tap (1984) works so well. Namely, although exaggerated in some ways, it is very close to the truth, and the truth consists of "behind the scenes" facts that are very different than the public face of the industry. It isn't easy to make a film, and it must have been especially difficult in Canada in the late 1970s. Films involve tens, if not hundreds, of people. Many have incompatible desires, motivations and personalities. Especially crucial are the financiers and the on-screen talent, as if either drops out or becomes undependable at any stage while the film is in production, it could jeopardize the whole affair, either necessitating extensive reshoots or abandoning the film altogether.

So it's not surprising that Hollywood North focuses on those kinds of relationships. The result is an excellent film that is both hilarious and tragic at the same time. The script is flawless and the performances are top notch. This is a must-see for any budding filmmaker and anyone with a serious interest in the craft of film-making. It should also be more than entertaining for any viewer with a modicum of intelligence and a sense of humor.

A 10 out of 10 from me.

Never have I seen the beautiful Jennifer Tilly look as luscious as she does in Peter O'Brien's "Hollywood North". I saw the film at this year's Toronto International Film Festival and the movie is still on my mind. That's because "Hollywood North", a comedy about the 'movie biz' actually delivers the cinematic goods.

The movie's tech credits are slick all-round and directed with a steadfast assurance by O'Brien, a notable producer of some merit during the Canadian 'tax-shelter' movie scene of the early '80's and '90's, winner of numerous Canadian film awards while giving a break to many up and coming actor/writers. Now its his turn to helm the action and he has turned in a sophisticated and wry comedy about a movie scheme that unexpectedly takes a turn for the worse.

Ms. Tilly is quite unforgettable as a sex-starved actress, performing in a low-budget movie titled "Flight To Bogota", with one particular hot scene that rivals Kim Cattral's love-making from another Canadian classic "Porky's". Meanwhile the beautiful Deborah Kara Unger pops in and out of the film sets with a documentary camera crew, putting the finishing touches on HER movie about the making of THIS movie.

Matthew Modine is quite hilarious as a befuddled newbie producer, John Neville as an assured, yet doddering director, Kim Coates as a hot-headed actor, Fab Filipo as the young leading man, Joe Cobden as Modine's frizzy-haired co-producer and Alan Bates, as a crazed, gentlemanly actor from the old school.

But the real star of this show is Hollywood North itself : the fledgling Canadian film industry of the 1970's searching for culture, indentity and a quest for respectability ...

This is an entertaining feature that deserves a wide theatrical release...

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.