Jimmy Hollywood (1994)

Jimmy Alto is an actor wannabe who stumbles into the role of a lifetime. He becomes a vigilante crime-fighter, aided by his sidekick William, who has suffered a head wound and has problems ... See full summary »

Director:

Barry Levinson

Writer:

Barry Levinson

Stars:

Joe Pesci, Christian Slater, Victoria Abril

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Joe Pesci	...	Jimmy Alto
Christian Slater	...	William
Victoria Abril	...	Lorraine de la Peña
Jason Beghe	...	Detective
John Cothran Jr.	...	Detective
Hal Fishman	...	Anchorperson
Jerry Dunphy	...	Anchorperson
Andrea Kutyas	...	Anchorperson
Kerry Kilbride	...	Newscaster
Paula López	...	Newscaster
Paul Dean Jackson	...	Newscaster
Joe Avellar	...	Newscaster
Susan Campos	...	Newscaster
Claudia Haro	...	Newscaster
Audrey Morgan	...	Newscaster

Storyline

Jimmy Alto is an actor wannabe who stumbles into the role of a lifetime. He becomes a vigilante crime-fighter, aided by his sidekick William, who has suffered a head wound and has problems with short-term memory. Jimmy's vigilante alter ego soon becomes a media wonder--but Jimmy remains a total unknown and his long-suffering girl friend Lorraine is getting fed up with the whole situation.

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Plot Keywords:

vigilante | actor | note read aloud | movie director | memory lapse | 

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Taglines:

It's a crime what Jimmy Alto will do to get a break.

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Genres:

Crime | Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 March 1994 (USA)

Also Known As:

Джимми-Голливуд

Box Office

Budget:

$30,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$3,692,874 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Baltimore Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

112 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Straight to video in the UK.

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Quotes

Jimmy: What are ya gonna do? Kill me? Everybody dies.

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Connections

References Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)

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Soundtracks

"The Far, Lonely Cry of Trains"
by Robbie Robertson
Performed by Robbie Robertson & Ryûichi Sakamoto
Courtesy of Geffen Records
Ryuichi Sakamoto performs courtesy of Virgin Records America, Inc.

User Reviews

Hollywood ending, ironically, hurts potentially good movie

Director Barry Levinson would have done well to heed the old line that if you are going to go up to the bell, ring it. Levinson flirts many times with themes much larger than this small film, but he never stays with them.

The vapidity of celebrity, the seedy death of Hollywood, even indications of the descent into madness all are brought up but are not followed through. And flashes of brilliance throughout the film are forgotten as the credits roll because of the cheap Hollywood ending.

Levinson certainly had a capable cast. Joe Pesci, Victoria Abril (in a rare English-first roll), and an astonishingly effective performance by Christian Slater are wasted as this film runs from theme to theme but never focuses long enough to flesh out the thoughts. Even the comedy becomes sporadic in the latter half of the film.

This is worth a rental just to see how a potentially good movie about Hollywood is damaged by its conventions.