The Hollywood Sign (2001)

From my favorite movies..

Admirable film.

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

Blistering performances.

"The Hollywood Sign" starts with some sharp comedy, but quickly deteriorates. Rod Steiger and Burt Reynolds hold things together for a short time, while Tom Beringer comes across as if he had a bad case of constipation. I had expectations that this was a black comedy, but what attempts were made at dark humor fall flat, mostly because of terrible timing. The script is very muddled, and the exact nature of the crime caper never clear. What is crystal clear is that "The Hollywood Sign" wastes good performances from Burt Reynolds and Rod Steiger. Because of the weak script, boredom eventually evolves into disinterest. A real sleeper. ZZZZZZ - MERK

It is a quite good movie. Although the images look old and battered for a 2001 movie the acting is fairly good. Unfortunately it can't equal the great Leon de Winter book, upon which the movie is based. Some very important elements from the book are missing in the film. Another thing is the cheap bunch of actors, there are some good ones, but a few parts could've had better actors. If they'd used better actors the movie could have been way more fun. All in all, it's a nice movie, it doesn't bore me but I had hoped for a way better movie. The great book deserves a better movie with better cast! But if you have read the book it is worth viewing, it's got some funny details and some of the acting is really nice.

The objective of "direct to video" movie makers is to attract the biggest "names" that their budget can afford. All the better to sell videos and offshore rights. From that cynical perspective Hollywood Sign still remains a failure. The plot is minimal and falls apart if you start to ask to many questions. Similarly, the dialog has some good lines, principally on their reduced acting status in Hollywood, but no where near enough to make this any sort of sly masterpiece. Therefore the whole value of the movie comes down to the three leads. Tom Berenger starts out with some character and pathos but recedes as the movie progresses. In the main showcase, with the three leads impersonating police, he is effectively wallpaper. Burt Reynolds can be described as erratic. On the plus side he shows true emotion looking at his old movies and comedy in in preparing for the "cop" role. However, in between, he is often vacant and the viewer is left to contemplate what appears to be really bad plastic surgery. Rod Steiger dominates all the scenes he's in and, by far, comes off the best. It's a matter of personal taste as to whether he goes into overacting but I could at least see the emotion which would have driven him to star status in the first place. Fans and completists of any of these three will be willing to see Hollywood Sign and, in that regard, the direct to video movie makers have achieved their objective. However, it is doubtful that anyone will need to see it twice.

This light-hearted comedy was a great surprise for me, I didn't expect much from The Hollywood Sign since it was a direct-to-video movie but after finishing it, I was impressed not only by the quality of the film, but also for the brilliant performances from the three leads.Granted is not a mainstream movie, but for what it is - a low budget comedy - The Hollywood Sign was entertaining and quite poignant at times. I personally felt that the three main actors had a nice time working together (something that a lot of people who watched it noticed too) and that they did their best with the material handed.Burt Reynolds, Tom Berenger and Rod Steiger have personal connection and knowledge about the main theme of the story - about being an actor and getting old in a place where legends are built with the same speed they are destroyed.All of them were at the top of the world during a certain period, especially Burt Reynolds, the box-office king of the seventies, and they had to face hard times afterwards. Reynolds has the most emotional and beautiful scene, in which he, with tears in his eyes, watches an old western he made.Beautiful moment and homage to Burt,a really talented, charming, wonderful and unfortunately underestimated actor of his time. I wonder if people in Hollywood will one day give Burt Reynolds the respect and admiration he deserves, or if they are only going to give credits when it's too late, as in the case of the outstanding and deceased Rod Steiger.