Hooray for Hollywood

5 out of 5 stars.

Great first episode. About a vet coming to Hollywood to be a star. His wife is pregnant. They can barely afford there bills. While his gas station clerk job is shady with a side business of sex. The show is fast moving. Fun. Exploring the underground of trying to be famous. The cast is great. The script and direction is great.

A great start to the series, beautiful costuming, good acting, and a well developed storyline. The ending could have done with some finesse, but still a great pilot episode.

The first episode of Ryan Murphy's HOLLYWOOD was ... Eh.. okay. You get some characters, see a side of Hollywood that maybe you didn't know before and some scenes which make you question people's intentions.

It isn't filmed any unique way, but the sets and costumes are visually pleasing.

I'll continue watching but hope for more arch and originality.

If you're going to make a fantasy tale, then don't base it on historical people and real movies and situations. If this series had based itself on the book by Scotty Bowers (played in this series by Dylan McDermott) it could have been terrific. Instead, it tries to portray Hollywood as 'woke' in the late 40's. It doesn't work for me. What does work is the look of the film and the performances. Of the younger actors, David Corenswet (now that's a name old Hollywood would have changed in a heartbeat), Jake Picking (as Rock Hudson) and Jeremy Pope are particularly good. Of the older actors, Holland Taylor, Joe Mantello and Patti LuPone, shine. In the middle, the aforementioned McDermott, and Jim Parsons (as real life Hollywood power-player Henry Willson), are both outstanding. Now, somebody needs to turn Bowers' book into a limited series.

I quit after one episode. Can't see the importance of making this alt-truth story against real history. Of course everyone loves fantasy, but be careful when you are trying to challenge something that we all know so well.