The Player (1992)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Director:

Robert Altman

Writers (WGA):

Michael Tolkin (screenplay)
Michael Tolkin (novel)

Release Date:

10 April 1992 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

The Best Movie Ever Made!" - Griffin Mill

Plot:

A studio executive is being blackmailed by a writer whose script he rejected but which one? Loaded with Hollywood insider jokes.

Plot Keywords:

Hollywood | Blackmail | Murder | Screenwriter | Investigation

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 20 wins & 10 nominations

Cast

Tim Robbins	...	Griffin Mill
Greta Scacchi	...	June Gudmundsdottir
Fred Ward	...	Walter Stuckel
Whoopi Goldberg	...	Detective Avery
Peter Gallagher	...	Larry Levy
Brion James	...	Joel Levison
Cynthia Stevenson	...	Bonnie Sherow
Vincent D'Onofrio	...	David Kahane
Dean Stockwell	...	Andy Civella
Richard E. Grant	...	Tom Oakley
Sydney Pollack	...	Dick Mellon
Lyle Lovett	...	Detective DeLongpre
Dina Merrill	...	Celia
Angela Hall	...	Jan
Leah Ayres	...	Sandy

MPAA:

Rated R for language, and for some sensuality.

Runtime:

124 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Certification:

Singapore:M18 | Iceland:L | South Korea:15 | USA:R (certificate #31599) | USA:TV-MA (cable rating) | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Chile:18 | Finland:K-14 | Germany:12 | Netherlands:AL | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Argyle Hotel - 8358 Sunset Boulevard, West Hollywood, California, USA

Company:

Avenue Pictures Productions

Trivia:

The interior of Griffin Mill's office is the same as used in Barton Fink (1991).

Goofs:

Continuity: Position of Griffin's tie while he's breaking up with Bonnie.

Quotes:

Malcolm McDowell: If you've got something to say about me; say it to my face, not behind my back.

Movie Connections:

References Pretty Woman (1990)

Soundtrack:

DRUMS OF KYOTO

Tinseltown Memoirs

Screen writing is a craft, one of many in Hollywood that builds or supports the towering edifice upon which our glamorous "stars" ... sit. Without a screenplay, actors, directors, and others in Hollywood might otherwise grovel for beans and potatoes at the local soup kitchen.

And so, director Altman gives us "The Player", a film about a screen writing executive (well played by Tim Robbins) who listens to story ideas, and makes decisions about what you and I see, and don't see, at the local multiplex. For every idea that evolves into a film, billions and billions of other ideas wither and die, along with the careers of the writers who conceived those ideas. Inevitably, some of those writers get miffed, and that is the premise of "The Player".

It's actually a weak premise, because in reality the business of screen writing is fairly bland, and the conflict, which exists mostly in people's heads, is fairly tame. To rev up the drama, and to qualify the film as a "thriller", the filmmakers here insert some contrived conflict, in the form of threatening postcards. If you watch this film for the "thriller" element only, you may be disappointed.

This film works, not so much as a thriller, but rather as a classy, semi-inside peak into the back rooms of Hollywood decision making. There's lots of humor, some obvious, some subtle. And the film's plot is filled with satirical irony. In addition to Robbins' fine performance, Whoopi Goldberg is great as a tampon obsessed detective.

The best approach to "The Player" is to absorb the Tinseltown setting, and watch the characters as they maneuver for selfish advantage. I really liked the inclusion of dozens of real-life Hollywood celebrities, just being themselves. You get to see them in their natural habitat. This element adds texture and authenticity, and thus helps to prop up the weak story.

Although the contrived plot falters somewhat in the middle Act, it's the overall Tinseltown setting and real-life ambiance that make "The Player" an entertaining and insightful film.