the movieGOOMBA

2 GOOMBAS

My entire perception of the Golden Age of Hollywood was shaped by I Love Lucy. Sometimes, I'm even surprised that some of the tidbits I learned from the show isn't common knowledge; like Heda Hopper and her crazy hats or what a Don Lopper Original meant to the average 1950's woman. So when I heard that they were making a movie about the original television show Superman, I immediately thought of the bouncy and friendly Superman who saved Lucy from her apartment building's ledge. This was the Superman that every kid for the 1950's knew and loved, and because of this episode, I knew him too, so I was surprised to find out that Superman wasn't who I thought he was.

Hollywoodland tells the story of a struggling actor, George Reeves, who found his break by playing every child's idol, Superman. However, his suspicious and abrupt death tainted the legendary superhero's reputation. This is where the story begins. Louis Simo is the private detective investigating George Reeves' death, which from the police's perspective was disregarded as a suicide. Through his investigation, Simo not only learns about the unhappy and strange lifestyle of the all-American symbol of heroism, but makes his own revelation about the life he leads.

To put it bluntly, I didn't like this movie. Watching it, you can tell that there was a lot of thought and effort that was put into it. All aspects of the actual production of the film was quality stuff; the cinematography, the lighting, period perspective, the mis en scene. It's obviously not your Saturday night, Lifetime, made-for-TV movie. It looks like an A-class film, but just like our teachers in grade school told us, appearance isn't everything.

The story wasn't all that interesting and the characters weren't engaging. I find myself stretching to explain how Simo found any connection between his life and Reeves'. Both struggle in their own way, but really, they had nothing in common. Reeves' is a child television star by day, man whore by night. Simo is a divorced, shady private investigator with a kid who doesn't respect him. Maybe one argue that while Reeves' balked and shied away from this respect that was given to him unquestionably, Simo longed for it. Sounds good, huh? Remember I'm stretching (the best BS comes from it).

I'd skip this movie and opt for other, better films like Chinatown or LA Confidential.