Hollywood loves to make movies about Hollywood, including plenty of industry satires that poke fun at the peculiar way that the movie business works. It should come as no surprise that screenwriters and directors can make incredibly powerful movies when they’re working with what they know. Movies likeSunset Boulevard, 8 1/2andThe Fabelmanstake audiences for a peek behind the curtain, resulting in reflective and personal works.
While many movies about making movies are dramas, there are also countless comedies that make fun of the strange business and the tumultuous process of bringing a movie to life. Even if these comedies aren’t the most relatable to most people, they can hit on universal truths about art, work and fulfillment. They can also allow directors and actors to poke fun at themselves.
Get Shortycame in the middle of Barry Sonnenfeld’s hot streak, after theAddams Familymovies and just beforeMen in Black.It’s a hilarious movie industry satire about a violent gangster who finds the similarities between his usual business and the Hollywood studio system, so he pivots to making movies. John Travolta plays the criminal in question, while Gene Hackman, Danny DeVito and Rene Russo all have memorable roles too.
Get Shortyis based on a novel by Elmore Leonard, who has always been a master at weaving comedy into his crime stories. More recently,Get Shortywas also adapted into a TV series starringThe IT Crowd’s Chris O’Dowd, but the movie version remains the more popular. The central premise offers up plenty of wry satire, andGet Shortyhas enough entertaining performances to get laughs from elsewhere too.
Since its release in 2003, Tommy Wiseau’sThe Roomhas earned a cult following, with fans lauding it as one of the worst movies ever made.The Roomis the quintessential"so-bad-it’s-good" movie, with clunky dialogue, overblown performances and shoddy production values.The Disaster Artistimagines the making ofThe Room,adapting a book by Greg Sestero, who plays Mark.
The Disaster Artistdigs into the mystery behindThe Roomdirector and star Tommy Wiseau.
The Disaster Artistdigs into the mystery behindThe Roomdirector and star Tommy Wiseau, played here by director and star James Franco. There have been conflicting reports about Wiseau’s age, birthplace and source of wealth, and his general demeanor and unique artistic proclivities have only raised more questions.The Disaster Artistcontrasts this portrait of a man who thinks he’s a tortured genius with the reality of a cast and crew who are happy to get paid, knowing that they’re working on a sure-fire flop.
A brief montage at the beginning ofThe Fall Guyshows behind-the-scenes footage from several big Hollywood blockbusters of stunt performers putting their lives on the line. This encapsulates the mission ofThe Fall Guy,which finally gives credit to an underappreciated job within the movie industry, praising the people who crash cars, take punches and set themselves on fire to make movies.
It’s an interesting peek behind the curtain, butThe Fall Guyis also a great action-comedy with a compelling mystery.
Naturally,The Fall Guyis packed with great stunts, as former stuntman David Leitch makes good use of his decades of experience. It’s an interesting peek behind the curtain, butThe Fall Guyis also a great action-comedy with a compelling mystery.The movie is based on a TV show of the same name, but the mystery of the missing A-list star is original, and it’s enough to bounce Ryan Gosling - sometimes literally - from one hilarious conflict to another.
Hail, Caesar!isn’t often ranked among thebest Coen brothers movies, butit’s an underrated gem that deserves more love. The story takes place in Los Angeles in the 1950s, as a studio fixer tries to keep an array of eccentric stars under control and out of the tabloids. The ensemble cast features several great performances, with actors engaging in some subtle self-parody, like George Clooney playing a pampered megastar.
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Hail, Caesar!shows the constant state of chaos in Old Hollywood studios, which the Coen brothers contrast with the manicured image that is presented to the press. The directors revive the atmosphere of the era with some fun film pastiches, but the plot soon escalates into a madcap caper filled with kidnapping, espionage and celebrity scandals. As always, this chaos is where the Coens thrive.
Eddie Murphy already made one great movie industry satire with 1999’sBowfinger,butDolemite Is My Nameis a completely different prospect, since it’s based on a true story. Murphy plays Rudy Ray Moore, a comedian and filmmaker who decided to make his own movies back in the 1970s when he was met with a hostile industry.Dolemiteand its sequels are still cult classics almost 50 years later, even though most critics at the time looked down on them.
It’s easily one of Eddie Murphy’s best movies, even if it’s more emotional than most of his other comedies.
Dolemite Is My Nameis an unorthodox success story, proving that people can enjoy movies made with low budgets and little experience. It’s a loving tribute to Moore and countless other underappreciated artists who bring people joy without the backing of studios or recognition from the cultural class. It’s easily one ofEddie Murphy’s best movies, even if it’s more emotional than most of his other comedies.
Most children, at one point or another, dream about making their own movies, andSon of Rambowshows how this fantasy can actually play out. The British comedy follows two children in the 1980s who decide to make their own version ofFirst Bloodfor a local competition, complete with a litany of dangerous stunts.It’s fun to look back and see a young Will Poulter, and Asa Butterfield has a minor role too.
Son of Rambowdistills the magic of cinema to its purest form, with two children who are unburdened by practical considerations or anxieties about the finished product. It’s an upbeat reminder of how movies should be a collaborative art form and a collective public experience, as the enthusiasm of the two young filmmakers is infectious.Son of Rambow’s shocking slapstick is another big positive.
Ed Wood is often referred to as the worst director of all time, withPlan 9 From Outer Spacerepresenting the sum of his achievements. The ropey sci-fi spectacular has gone down in history as a notorious dud, and Tim Burton’s comedy looks back at its creation. Johnny Depp puts on a flamboyant front as the director, whose unbridled enthusiasm and love of women’s clothing make him a polarizing figure in 1950s Hollywood.
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It would be easy to make fun of Ed Wood, but Tim Burton’s biopic clearly shows a lot of love for the director’s spirit of perseverance and unique vision.It seems as if Burton finds a kindred spirit in Wood, or his idea of Wood, since both men are directors who don’t often conform to what’s expected of them, and both are outliers in the movie industry.Ed Wood’s cast inject the story with plenty of warmth, none more so than Martin Landau, who plays horror icon Bela Lugosi.
Once Upon a Time in Hollywoodfollows a fading movie star as Hollywood shifts toward a new system in the late 1960s. The setting gives Quentin Tarantino the opportunity to remake some old classics, andhe blends the historical with the fictional in his rose-tinted vision of Los Angeles. Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt both play fictional characters, but Margot Robbie’s Sharon Tate ties the story to real-world history.
It’s an atmospheric, stylish comedy that shows Tarantino’s flair for dialogue.
As with most Tarantino movies, the story rises to a violent crescendo, but large portions of it are made up of mundane interactions.Once Upon a Time in Hollywoodspends plenty of time following Sharon Tate to the movies and relaxing with Cliff Booth as he drives around the city. It’s an atmospheric, stylish comedy that shows Tarantino’s flair for dialogue, as well as his obvious love for making movies.
Tropic Thunderstarts with some fake movie trailers to introduce the characters, and these movies exaggerate some of the worst trends in Hollywood. The movies include a gross-out comedy about farting, a self-serious Oscar-bait drama and the latest installment in a big-budget action franchise that ran out of ideas long ago. This is just the set-up forTropic Thunder’s hilarious industry satire, as Ben Stiller’s comedy highlights the gulf between how actors see themselves and who they really are.
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Tropic Thunderbenefits from some great performances, including Robert Downey Jr.’s role as an actor so self-absorbed that he doesn’t see any issue with doing blackface for a movie, and a rare comedic turn from Tom Cruise. There’s no shortage of laugh-out-loud moments, both from the witty dialogue and the explosive physical comedy. Putting a group of pampered war movie actors in an actual warzone seems like a simple premise, butTropic Thunderis smart enough to keep finding new punchlines.
Singin' in the Rainis set during the transition from silent films to talkies, as a group of actors struggle to make a movie that can compete with the new way of doing things. AlthoughSingin' in the Rainis the most lavish and extravagant kind of musical, it also gets surprisingly technical in its depiction of Old Hollywood. The major conflict of the third act revolves around contract disputes over billing and defamation.
Singin' in the Raindeserves its reputation as one of thebest movies ever, and it’s arguably the quintessential movie about making movies. Even though the setting has lost all relevance, it’s a surprisingly relatable story about artists working together and creating the kind of ephemeral magic that only seems possible in movies. One for the true movie-lovers,Singin' in the Rainis an endlessly entertaining film, with outstanding musical performances, charming comedy and a romance worth rooting for.
