The Player

Release Year: 1992
Review: A movie buffs movie, delving in the cut-throat world of Hollywood in the form of a mystery. Griffin Mill(Tim Robbins) plays a ruthless Hollywood studio script reviewer who becomes paranoid after receiving death threats. The film is brimming with references to classic movies, and movie jargon is found throughout. This quick insider banter is often poking fun at the industry itself, and the Hollywood studios are often the butt of the jokes. Being a Robert Altman film, a director who is well respected by actors, and seeing that its a film about Hollywood, there are countless cameos from a slue of popular actors of the time. I enjoyed these constant Hollywood references and the way that Altman meandered around the chaotic sets dropping in and out of conversations, in a way that he had become famous for. These references and quips were the highlight of the film. I appreciated the what the film did with the plot, and the payoff was satisfying, but ultimately I found nearly everyone in the film, particularly Griffin, so loathsome that I didn't enjoy the experience moment to moment.
Rating: 3/5