Barry Levinson’s movie “What Just Happened?” is a comedic sneak peak into the life of a top notch producer. It pulled in a dream team of very talented actors and actresses including, but not limited to, Robert De Niro, Sean Penn Bruce Willis and Catherine Keener. Our protagonist De Niro, who plays tour guide to our sneak peek, is a Hollywood producer juggling two very sensitive film projects while trying to reconsolidate his private life.

Something is always going wrong, but it seems that that is the only way it goes. Its seemingly miniscule plot may detour some viewers due to one of the main story arches being Bruce Willis’s beard. However, it is a type of situation that has to be dealt with while making a film. The effort, time, and yelling it took to negotiate whether or not he would shave this beard for a movie is astonishing. How accurate it is, I couldn’t say, but it was ever so entertaining. That being said, I will admit that this may leave some movie-goers thinking that there wasn’t nearly enough going on. But what I really appreciated about this film is that it gives you a “day in the life” view of Hollywood. It doesn’t dare over glamorize the movie with any unnecessary climaxes just for the sake of climaxes. 

The overall quality truly is as good as you would and should expect it to be. The directing was original enough and the acting was great. Art linson’s story also serves as a well written and intriguing tale. It’s a simple idea that gets bombarded with lots of little hitches and bumps to keep you tuned in. Overall it was entertaining from start to finish without a surplus of Hollywood debris. Can’t ask for much more than that.

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