Watch I'll Do Anything For Free

Let's be realistic.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

It would be very interesting to see the original cut of this movie, which was a musical but had its songs cut out after a test audience indicated that the songs in the movie were terrible. (I'm surprised that not even a bootleg of this cut has leaked out.) I will entertain the possibility that the songs were indeed bad and that the movie was improved by the reworking. But as it is, the movie isn't particularly successful. It does have some interesting behind- the-scenes moments that show the working of the Hollywood machine behind the curtains, and the performances aren't that bad. However, the movie can't seem to make up its mind whether it is a comedy or a drama. It might have been possible to mix those two genres, but as it is here, the two extremes don't seem to fit together. Also, the key relationship in the movie - between the Nick Nolte character and his daughter - seems for the most part not very in-depth, so much so that the emotional ending doesn't seem deserved. The kind of slow pace of the movie as well as its length (almost two hours) doesn't help matters. It's not actively bad, but there's not much that will stick in your mind after watching it.

This film could have been shot in a month, since everything in it had a freshness and spontaneity that can only come when nothing is labored. I don't know the film world, but this seemed genuine, with the characters each with their own struggles.Nick Nolte's relation with his "difficult" daughter was something to enjoy. When his hopes were raised to get the big role, only to find out it wasn't going to happen, devastation, closing the door and crying in the bathroom, was what could be expected.We only get so many chances in life, and when we miss one that very well could be our last, our life is altered irretrievable. Nothing could be more real, whether it is getting a movie part or a promotion to manager at Walmart.And the six year old who played his daughter, recruited from a clogging class in Georgia from a working class family. She was just a normal little girl, not a child actress, but someone who fit perfectly. And she went back to Georgia and then on to a local College to study Business Administration.Somehow, this film received a low rating here and apparently was a box office failure, yet every written comment was of the vein of this one, laudatory. Perhaps that was the subplot of the film exemplified by its lack of success.Brooks producer character made his films with loud explosions and tested it as a product to satisfy an audience. Artistry had nothing to do with what he was manufacturing. This film was a rare treat, but would never been made by Brooks, or anyone else apparently.But this one got through, and is a pleasure for those who can appreciate it.

This is a movie about making movies and standing up for your beliefs and not having to bow down under the pressures of audience expectations and studio involvements, and it had musical numbers which were cut and writers come in to dumb it down because of audience expectations and studio involvements.But I found all that out after I first saw the movie and thought it was great entertainment. I love Nick Nolte, he's so grave and gruff and depressed that I hope he doesn't kill himself cause I really like everything he's done, even The Hulk, and especially Affliction and that Martin Short with a kid movie. Joely Richardson is gorgeous! Julie Kavner and James Brooks are great. I highly recommend this film, and hope to see it again soon on DVD with all of the deleted scenes.

Although I found the movie a bit frenetic, it seemed to have a ring of truth about how things work in Hollywood (especially the "Would you sleep with him?" scene). Nick Nolte keeps everything going, as usual, with his marvelous acting. Is there any other "big guy" actor who can cry believably (well, maybe Harrison Ford)? He was just terrific, so believable as the father who didn't know what to do with his spoiled brat daughter. And wasn't Whittni Wright amazing? I can only hope that was acting, as I've seen plenty of kids just like her. The supporting cast was terrific. It was hard to pinpoint what there was about this movie that made it not quite so good as it could have been. Perhaps it was that it really was an "in-house" film, one that anyone who has been through what the various characters have could identify with, but perhaps not us out in the hinterlands (coming from Wyoming to Australia, I'm definitely hinterland!). Kudos to actors and director for keeping this film together. With lesser talent, it could have fallen flat on its face.