Hurlyburly (1998)

Hollywood movers and shakers dissect their own personal lives when everything seems to clash together.

Director:

Anthony Drazan

Writers:

David Rabe (play), David Rabe (screenplay)

Stars:

Sean Penn, Kevin Spacey, Chazz Palminteri

1 win & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sean Penn	...	Eddie
Kevin Spacey	...	Mickey
Robin Wright	...	Darlene (as Robin Wright Penn)
Chazz Palminteri	...	Phil
Garry Shandling	...	Artie
Anna Paquin	...	Donna
Meg Ryan	...	Bonnie
Gianna Palminteri	...	Susie (as Gianna Renaudo)
David Fabrizio	...	Store Manager
Kenny Vance	...	Singer
Michaline Babich	...	Receptionist
Elaine Corral Kendall	...	TV Anchor (as Elaine Corral)
Sharon Tay	...	TV Reporter
Frank Somerville	...	TV Anchor
Bob Jimenez	...	Newscaster

Storyline

Hurly-burly is an adaptation of David Rabe's well known play about the intersecting lives of several Hollywood players and wannabes whose personal lives threaten to veer into a catastrophe more interesting than anything they're peddling to the studios.

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Plot Keywords:

one word title | based on play | group of friends | male female relationship | teenage girl | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for constant drug use, pervasive strong language and sexual material

Details

Official Sites:

Fine Line Features

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 December 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ano kato

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$164,826, 27 December 1998, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$1,796,328, 4 April 1999

Company Credits

Production Co:

FilmColony, Storm Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

122 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright would appear together in House of Cards (2013) 15 years later.

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Goofs

When Eddie lies under the glass table while Mickey and Artie talk to him, the location (and amount) of cocaine changes between shots.

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Quotes

Eddie: I lie to myself. I'm a really great liar. And I'm very gullible.

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Connections

Referenced in Game k n b?: Episode dated 3 March 2007 (2007)

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Soundtracks

Aldritch Sauce
(music video)
Written & Performed by Red Aunts

User Reviews

An Underrated and Relatively Unknown Film

I remember watching Sean Penn walking up to the podium, accepting his Best Actor Academy Award for his (in my opinion) decent and somewhat accomplished role in Mystic River, and thought to myself the award was more of an achievement for his body of work rather than for the particular film. His role in Hurlyburly is far more impressive than the Jersey-speaking gangster in Great Clint's emotional waterfall of a film. I've always been a fan of Hurlyburly since seeing a heavily edited version of it for the first time on UPN years ago, mainly for its writing and acting performances. The entire ensemble is wonderful - Penn, Spacey, and Palminteri especially - and the writing is believable and clear cut, even though I've never met or been exposed to anyone even close to characters like the ones depicted in the film. The low rating on IMDb surprised me, but maybe I can see why the majority of people either don't like or are rather indifferent about the film. The film-making is not ground breaking by any means, but the content and passion exuded from the actors involved stand out amongst other films like it that heavily rely on idiosyncratic and interesting dialogue. I'd like to see Rabe's stage version to see how he nails it - because the movie is a treat for anyone who enjoys a dose of something a bit off-beat and different.