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The Worst Film Ever

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

Non-white actors and actresses have faced an uphill battle since the earliest days of cinema. Even today, other than a privileged few superstars, many minority actors struggle to find roles. When they do get cast, it's often in a very limited breadth of stereotypical roles - whether it be the Asian nerd, the Middle Eastern terrorist, or the black gangster/thug. Actors often have to weigh their ethical qualms at playing a role they find tactless (or even out-and-out racist) against the practical demands of paying the bills.In Hollywood Shuffle, Robert Townsend shows the African-American side of these difficulties in the story of aspiring actor Bobby Taylor in late-80s LA. Bobby's story is interspersed with fantasy sequences that address and parody various popular films and genres.For an indie film, the visual look of Hollywood Shuffle is quite good. Apart from some actors playing multiple roles, you wouldn't think this had a budget barely over five figures. I certainly respect anyone who would self-fund a movie the way Townsend did, especially to draw attention to an important social issue such as this. However, the movie suffers from several problems. The balance of comedy and seriousness seems skewed, and the writing often seems very ham-handed and uneven. Many of the fantasy sequences are too long and drawn-out, and Bobby's story seems to suffer for it, feeling too simple and rushed. It feels like Townsend couldn't decide between two types of movie - one a silly comedic satire lampooning Hollywood from a black perspective, and the other a more serious story with a more wry sense of humour derived from his real experiences as a struggling actor - and so he just tried to make both (but succeeded at neither).Much of the movie seems like it would have been dated even at the time it was released. It feels like it would have been more at place if released five to ten years earlier, with references to Superman, Rambo, Dirty Harry, Roots and the jive-talking' blaxploitation genre that was so popular in the 70s (but, as far as I know, was long-dead by 1987). Perhaps this dated feeling is because of the big shift that was about to took place in the late 80s and early. Hip hop was growing and maturing into a real mainstream force, TV shows like In Living Color and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air were soon to become huge hits, and more nuanced portrayals of urban black life like Do the Right Thing and Boyz n the Hood were in the pipeline. Now that's not to say that these new portrayals and perceptions of black characters and life weren't without their own particular problems - just that much of what Hollywood Shuffle presented feels like it would have been irrelevant by then.Overall, I agree with some of the other reviewers in the use of the word "uneven". I'd like to give it more credit for its ambition and guts, but it seems like it didn't really have much effect on things.Final summary: 4/10 | C-

by Dane Youssef Movies in general are so formulaic that even most independent films are pretty routine and by-the-numbers.Maybe that's why "Hollywood Shuffle" feels so refreshing, like a much-needed change of pace. Most indies are made almost entirely by hand---one man writing, directing, producing (hey, they need every single spare cent they can get their grubby hands on) and this one is no exception.Townsend wears all the indie hats here… and he wears them proudly.This is the film that introduced the world to Robert Townsend. Well, that was it's whole purpose. Like "The Brother McMullen," this star-vehicle was written and directed by Townsend about his dream to make it as a professional actor, trying to break into Hollywood, while at the same time, trying to over-come the cruel limitations mainstream Hollywood has set up for black people who want to act... and actors, in general.Whereas the '70's was the birth decade of the blaxploitation, so many of them were just cheap, cheesy, corny knock-offs of popular white films. Blaxploitation got more blacks into films, but the films themselves weren't really about anything. "Hollywood Shuffle" is a Blaxploitation film that really has something to say... that has an agenda.There is so much burning talent, so many struggling entertainers wanting to make something of themselves, that Hollywood can afford to treat the auditioning talent the same way a really strong cleanser treats germs.Townsend's efforts to make this movie are inspiring--he borrowed every dollar he could, asked for movie footage that was left on the cutting-room floor, called in every favor he could, threw everything he had and more to get this one made.To tell his story, get his foot in the door... and at the same time, tell a story about what this kind of life is like. For those with talent who dare to dream big.Greats Keenan Ivory Wayans and John Witherspoon have bit players as people who work at a hog stand in the neighborhood who don't ask for much out of life... and don't get it. They're the kind of cynics who believe, "You're a fool for following your dreams." When you near the end of your journey in this world, you really fully understand the meaning of the old phrase, "Nothing ventured, nothing gained." Townsend interlocks a variety of skits with this all-too autobiographical tale, all of which are pretty funny and inspiring. You have to admire the way that Townsend wants to put out some legitimate roles for black actors to play and black actors to idolize. But most of his skits go on too long after the point has been made and there are quite a few moments that feel like someone (Townsend obviously) should have punched up. Townsend is a far better actor than he is a writer/director.Perhaps because he is only a filmmaker by necessity for this one. He's more interested in using this to make up of all those dream roles he never got to play and showing his chops as an actor than really making a great movie.There's a scene where he takes-off "Siskel & Ebert"--before everyone started doing it. Almost all the skits (where Townsend is fantasizing his dream roles as an actor) go on way too long, probably because Townsend is far less concerned with how funny the skits/movie is and more interested in using this movie to play all the dream roles he never got to before.Every actor is perfectly cast, especially Townsend himself. It's great to see him playing all these roles you know he's always dreamed of doing (he plays them while his character actually IS day-dreaming).The movie captures the struggle of the out-of-work actor just right. We see lines and lines of actors warming-up, rehearsing their roles, going into the audition... all to hear, "Thank you, next!" But some blessed, precious few are picked.But those that are black are given racially-biased drivel to perform. Ethnic caricatures that shame and set back their race. Brothers and sisters who talk like stock characters from the slave era, wearing redneck farm clothes, picking cotton, eating chicken and getting stinking drunk. Townsend tirades many black archetypes, most of which went out of style around the same time as black-face. Lil' Bobby obviously wants to say something about the way the brothers and sisters are treated in the biz. There are some moments here you'll roar with laughter at, as well as put a lump in your throat and a strange feeling of hope and pride. Like many other breakthrough films, especially independents, "Hollywood Shuffle" was another arrival of a fresh new talent. It happens as often as the rise and setting of the suns, but here is a film where it feels a little more special… because Townsend was really about something. You can see it here, not only in some of his satirist scenes, but some of the quieter moments where real drama in brewing and dreams are at stake.We see where Townsend is asking himself if he's good enough, if he face the whole world (which is how it is when you're struggling to make it as an entertainer… or in life) and when life-long happiness is at stake. It almost hurts. And at the end of it all, when we wonder for Townsend's character, Bobby's sake… what will become of him? And then we realize we already know. We just found out.It's like looking in the sky at the stars like you always do… and then there's a brand-new star shining in the night sky, standing out just a little bit bigger than the others. Haven't seen that one before. Hey, is that a new one? Couldn't be, could it? I don't remember… there are so many. Another star is born.Or made.--Love (or Like), Dane Youssef

When this film first came out, I saw it and loved it. For years, I've quoted (and, as it turns out, misquoted) a few of its lines--some of the funniest I've ever heard. I recently watched the DVD version with my wife, who'd never seen it. She wasn't impressed, and I can't say that I blame her. I was surprised how tedious and un-funny some stretches of the film are, and how disconnected the various skits were. The funny parts are still riotously funny (Nearly every second of "Sneakin' In The Movies with Tyrone and Speed" is laugh-out-loud funny), but other parts are boring and flat. The film-noir parody is especially poor, with unfocused, stale gags delivered slowly and without zest. A final note: those easily offended by four-letter words should skip this film. In keeping with its urban "street" vibe, rough language is pervasive--especially in the funniest scenes.

Hollywood Shuffle (1987) was the directorial debut of Actor/ Director Robert Townshend. His self financed film Hollywood SHUFFLE pokes fun at the struggles many black actors face whilst looking for an acting career in Hollywood. It's sad as well because many of these stereotypes are still true to this day. While progress has been made in the American Movie Industry, they still need to make more progress. This film showed people how the Movie making business handles the majority of young black actors who're trying to make it in the movies.The story is about a young, talented and aspiring actor who wants to make it in Hollywood as a director. But when he tries out for roles, he meets a lot of stumbling blocks. Many of these are about his racial background (i.e. he's not black enough, he's too black, doesn't act black, etc. etc.). Eventually he's offered a role but will he throw away his dignity to accept it? Can young Robert make it in Hollywood without "selling out"? Will his peer drag him down? To find out you'll just have to watch Hollywood SHUFFLE.Highly recommended film.