TV Review: Hollywood

This was TV show #8/20 (#13 overall) that I watched for my 20 for 2020 Challenge. This series was released on Netflix on May 1, 2020.

I have been looking forward to this show for awhile, as soon as it was announced by Netflix. I watch anything Ryan Murphy that I can get my hands on. I love the whole Ryan Murphy universe, and seeing what cast members will be used in new projects

Overall I did like the show. I thought it was enjoyable and I loved the retro setting. But I did have several problems that definitely prevented me loving the show. I think the show was a little inconsistent in several different ways. The pacing was definitely a little off. I thought it was pretty good in the beginning, but towards the middle-end it definitely got very rushed. The beginning episodes also tended to focus on an individual character for each episode. Then as the show goes on it starts to not focus as much on one specific character. I also think the era was a little inconsistent especially in terms of racism. I couldn't tell if this was supposed to be some dream fantasy world, idealized 1940s Hollywood, alternate universe kind of thing or one more based in reality. One example that I can specifically think of is that the main black characters were never barred from entering certain restaurants. At the soda fountain where Jack's wife works there was a black woman working behind the counter. Archie was allowed to be served there along with the other white customers. He wasn't ever shown to have a problem going into any of the other bars or restaurants they went to. For the most part, the main problem that was shown to us was that people of color weren't being featured in Hollywood, both in front of and behind the screen. It was like there was no problem for the POC out in the real world. It was really weird how it would go back and forth between there being subtle instances of racism (like how they wanted to portray Camille as the black maid) and there being not even a hint of racism (like how there were absolutely no complaints or comments regarding Raymond and Camille's interracial relationship). These POC characters weren't ever really affected on a micro scale. They were mostly demonized on a macro scale by the nameless, faceless bad people out there.

I love anything set in this retro 1930s-1960s era. This definitely was a main draw for me with this show. This old Hollywood setting combined with Ryan Murphy (and the classic Ryan Murphy cast) made me anticipate this to be one of my favorite Ryan Murphy projects ever. I'd say most of the show was pretty authentic in its classic, 1940s nostalgic retelling and visualization. I really enjoyed the music and colors and aesthetic of the show.

I do have some complaints regarding the casting. There were a few cast members that definitely didn't feel like they fit in with this setting at all. Specifically I'd say Laura Harrier (who played Camille) and Samara Weaving (who played Claire) didn't quite fit in for me, either with their appearances or the way they acted and spoke. They really felt like modern actresses that didn't quite feel authentic to that world. It's not that they did a bad job, it's just that they felt unnatural fitting into this era. David Corenswet (who played Jack) was FANTASTIC! He felt like he could have been pulled directly from that era. He looked and sounded exactly like a 1940s movie star. Other highlights for me that really contributed to this authentic feeling 1940s characters were Holland Taylor and Mira Sorvino. I thought they did a great job portraying the mannerisms, way of acting and inflection of that era. Any other actors not specifically mentioned fit well enough in my opinion, but I just specifically wanted to call out those that I felt did a great job and those that I felt were forced in. I really loved the characters themselves though. There were so many characters that I fell in love with.

One of my main issues with the show is that I think a lot of the issues and conflicts that they faced throughout the story felt like they were just wished away. The issues and conflicts weren't ever really addressed in a real way- they just magically went away. All of these conflicts were resolved way too easily. Especially in the end it was very unbelievable to me how easily the story concluded. It left me feeling very unfulfilled and unsatisfied.

I wasn't a big fan of how they used real people and their stories in this retelling. I think it would have been better to just be made up characters. I wasn't bothered so much that it was offensive to their memory (which I have seen some complaints about), I was more bothered that I couldn't really follow how the story was going. I don't know much about these people's real lives (Rock Hudson, Vivien Leigh etc.) and found it hard to follow what was real and what was being changed. It was hard for me to distinguish what was real and what was created for this show to emphasize whatever message Murphy was trying to convey. I also couldn't stop thinking about whether these actors were doing a good impression or not etc. It also kind of makes their struggles seem very insignificant since when tied into how these conflicts were resolved in the show. Since the show featured real characters and their stories and struggles, these struggles were some of the ones that were resolved too easily. This makes it seem that the message is that these people didn't try hard enough to break the stigma that was holding them back. It's slightly insulting that it's implied that if these people had tried x, y or z, racism would have been solved. I felt like it kind of trivialized the issues. I think this feeling would have been greatly resolved if they just hadn't based the story off of real world people. I suppose it could have been "based" off of them or inspired by them, without using their names or any specific identifying details about them. I definitely don't think that it was intended at all to be offensive. I think Murphy was hoping that this show would give off the message that if you stand up for what you believe is right, it may be hard, but it's the right thing to do and will work out for you in the end. I think it's a good message, but I just think it would have been better accomplished if the conflicts were resolved in a more concrete way and if the story hadn't used characters based off of real life people.

Although I do have my problems with how some of the conflicts were dealt with, I have to admit that as usual, Ryan Murphy knows how to tell a compelling story. I didn't love the show as much as I thought it would, but I definitely enjoyed it while I was watching it and loved to see this homage to this era of Hollywood. I'd give this a 7/10. Have you seen this show? Please leave your thoughts down below.