Take Three: Hollywood

Hollywood: Season 1, Episode 3 “Outlaws” (B)

I’ve tried not to read too much about this show so that I can experience it without any outside influences, but watching an episode a week means that others have already finished the series and shared their thoughts far and wide. There are definitely some strange storylines, like Henry dancing around for Rock and then spinning a legitimately moving story about loss at the end of the hour before then having Rock come in and get friendly with two young men he just happened to have in a closet. There were definitely some formidable confrontations in this hour, including the one between Jack and Henry. The MVP of this hour was definitely Joe Mantello as Dick Samuels, who didn’t want to stay at the party and then gave Rock some important advice he took right away before once again becoming sheepish in front of Henry. I recognized a number of other performers in this hour, including Paget Brewster as Tallullah Bankhead, Daniel London from “Minority Report” as George Cukor, and of course Rob Reiner as Ace. Learning that Claire is the daughter of Ace and Avis is interesting, and their dinner table is certainly volatile. Raymond appeared to be the most clueless about what was happening at the party, though he’s not exactly ascending the same ladder as the rest of them. Camille is slowly bushing the boundaries of what she can do and making an impression in the process, winning some support even if the director doesn’t have any patience for it.