★ 5 / 10
**_Madcap spoof of all Roger Corman genres_** A
Wuchak
**_Madcap spoof of all Roger Corman genres_** A beautiful blonde from Indiana (Candice Rialson) moves to Hollywood to become an actress and find fame. She…
**_Madcap spoof of all Roger Corman genres_**
A beautiful blonde from Indiana (Candice Rialson) moves to Hollywood to become an actress and find fame. She hooks-up with a dubious team of moviemakers who run Miracle Pictures. Their slogan is: “If it’s a good picture, it’s a miracle.” Statuesque Mary Woronov is on hand as an increasingly bitter actress who works for the company.
“Hollywood Boulevard” (1976) is an amusing send-up of Grade Z filmmaking with comedy, action, slasher, you-name-it. It’s amusing for the first 40 minutes or so, but starts to lose its charm by the second half. Sure, it’s entertaining to a point if you want to turn-off your brain for a fun time, but that doesn’t change the fact that it’s a shallow, throwaway flick.
Nevertheless, there’s a surprising sequence that obviously influenced Coppola and his outstanding air raid on the village sequence in “Apocalypse Now.”
Blonde Candice Rialson was a memorable B-film starlet in the 70s, along the lines of redhead Claudia Jennings; and, less so, thin Tara Strohmeier, who plays Jill here. Meanwhile brunette Rita George is notable as Bobbi. There’s quite a bit of top nudity, so stay away if you find that objectionable.
Eleven years later, "Howling III: The Marsupials" would feature a satirical filmmaking crew, similar to the one in this one.
It runs 1 hour, 23 minutes, and was shot in Los Angeles, including Hollywood, except for sequences done at Paramount Ranch in Agoura Hills, which is west of there, just north of Malibu in the high country (the Western town set and open landscape shots).
GRADE: C
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★ 6 / 10
Boulevard of Broken Dreams ... and preposterous satire!
Coventry
To be entirely honest, I came close to abandoning "Hollywood Boulevard" after a few minutes already, due to the exaggeratedly goofy sequence of a stunt woman…
To be entirely honest, I came close to abandoning "Hollywood Boulevard" after a few minutes already, due to the exaggeratedly goofy sequence of a stunt woman crashing from a plane and leaving a person-shaped crater in the ground upon impact. That sort of stuff belongs in a "Tom and Jerry" or "Roadrunner" cartoon, but not here. But because Roger Corman and Joe Dante are involved, and mainly because the gorgeous Tara Strohmeier was standing around topless for no reason, there was a little voice inside my head encouraging me to continue. It might get better...Overall, I'm glad I persevered. There are many more silly and downright idiotic moments like these in "Hollywood Boulevard", but also the showcasing of brilliant tongue-in-cheek satire and in-house parody. Roger Corman gave two of his canniest acolytes (Joe "Piranha" Dante and Allan "Rock & Roll High School" Arkush) 10 days, $60.000, and free access to the outtakes of his previous film-hits (notably "Death Race 2000). What they delivered in return is a bonkers but imaginative - and, yes, occasionally dreary - cocktail of comedy, sleaze, horror, and parody."Hollywood Boulevard" begins as a tale about a naïve young actress struggling to make it in the movie industry, continues as a portrait on how difficult it is to remain successful in that same industry, and ends (quite fantastically) as a slasher in which the sexy B-movie actresses are the targets of a maniacal killer. What makes "Hollywood Boulevard" so enjoyable is the marvelous cast of Corman-regulars and the shameless exploitation of beautiful female nudity. Paul Bartel is splendid as the unworldly director who loves himself and Dick Miller is genius as the sly talent agent. Actresses Tara Strohmeier, Candice Rialson, and Rita George also give more than admirable performances, but - who are we kidding - are most memorable for their topless appearances. The long and 200% gratuitous sequence where the three of them are sunbathing half-naked on a beach in The Philippines probably still is the highlight of Joe Dante's and Alan Arkush's careers!Oh, and you simple have to love the fictional "Miracle Films" production company's slogan: If it's a good picture, it's a Miracle.
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1080p plz