By
Gerald Aaron
Barry Levinson smoothly directs a cheerfully callous satirical comedy that sets out to bite the Hollywood hand that feeds it, and succeeds very entertainingly.
Robert De Niro's over-the-hill, twice-divorced film producer Ben (Robert De Niro) has to battle a drug-addled Mockney director (an enjoyably over the top Michael Wincott) and a piranha-like studio boss (Catherine Keener, scarily predatory) to save his latest would be action blockbuster. It is the best thing the once-great actor has done for ages, while Bruce Willis' sadistic send-up of self-adoring movie stars adds to the fun.
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