Hollywood.Con

Mika Boorem wrote Hollywood.Con with Benjamin Boorem, Cshediiz Coleman, Benjamin Lockman, and Michael Lindley. Maybe the five writers are the reason the film morphs into a different genre every 20-minutes. Sometimes, this jump works well; specifically, the juggling of Mika and Ben’s relationship juxtaposed against El Jade and his family allows for some genuine heart to shine through. The adventure aspect remains intriguing, though the action setpieces are largely contained to either wide shots of people running or vehicles speeding off. So, the film only ever becomes mildly thrilling.

Then, over an hour in, some crazy, psychedelic sequence plays out… and it stops the momentum dead. It takes a while for the story to refind its footing. This scene is neither funny, interesting, visually striking, or really needed. It is padding through and through, which is frustrating as that time could have been better exploring Mika, Ben, and the Mayan Priest’s burgeoning friendship. The third act hinges on this and a funny turn from the Priest, so this would really have benefitted from being explored in greater detail. But, that turn brings a renewed energy to proceedings, and it all wraps up in a sweet way.

“The adventure aspect remains intriguing…”

For all its flaws, though, Hollywood.Con is quite watchable, mainly because Mika Boorem is a fine actor. She makes her character instantly likable, and viewers readily root for her to succeed. She plays off of Benjamin Boorem well, and their relationship smooths over some of the clunkier moments. Tom Arnold only appears for a few minutes, but he is tons of fun. He is believable as a violent gangster and clearly still poses the comedic chops he is known for.

Hollywood.Con seems to try to be a new kind of film every few minutes, and its pacing is off at times. But, the cast is game for anything, and the core relationship works well. While one will never belly laugh, an amused smile will be plaster on a viewer’s face throughout. Now, can someone please explain the meaning of the title?