I watched "What Just Happened" with such an air of indifference that I felt nothing during or after it was over. The film just sits there (a commonplace truth) but, in this case, it is the literal truth. "What Just Happened" has no zeal, no real satirical Hollywood targets we haven't seen skewered before, and actually nothing of real consequence to say.
The ubiquitous Robert De Niro plays a movie producer losing his edge who needs a hit because he has two ex-wives and some children to support. Two film projects are in trouble - one is in post-production that involves the hideous killing of a dog that preview audiences are hating, and the other project has been given the green light yet the major star, Bruce Willis, refuses to shave his Grizzly Adams beard. Other than that, De Niro speeds his way through Los Angeles in time-lapse motion shots that grate the nerves, and wants one of his ex-wives back, played far too thanklessly by Robin Wright.
Other than that, there is not much more to "What Just Happened" and that is a shame coming from a director like Barry Levinson. The film feels weightless and perfunctory and doesn't add much punch to its targets, you know, the soulless Hollywood game where money is the deciding factor. Geez, where have we heard that before? 1992's "The Player" is still the top of the ranks when it comes to Hollywood satire and how Hollywood producers behave (geez, even a mild Hollywood insider comedy like "The Muse" had more laughs). Nothing here feels like it has any real value or verve (truly, the book by Art Linson, "What Just Happened?: Bitter Hollywood Tales From the Front Line," must have some lifeline).
De Niro appears and exists in the movie, and that is the best I can say for him. The only real life and blood of the film is Michael Wincott as an alcoholic, pill-popping, capricious film director who hates movie cliches and wants his integrity to remain firm (despite not having final cut) which includes the shooting of the dog at the conclusion of his movie. Speaking of firm, Catherine Keener provides plenty of it as a studio chief who wants the ending fixed. What Just Happened? A boring, empty movie, that's what.
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