Hollywood reviews: Ryan Murphy's second Netflix series polarises critics

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Rachel McGrath1 May 2020

Ryan Murphy’s revisionist take on tinseltown is set to arrive on Netflix in time for the weekend - but is Hollywood worth watching?

The seven-episode series sees Murphy revisit Hollywood’s golden age, merging truth with fiction and asking what a more liberal-minded 1950s tinseltown may have looked like.

When it comes to the cast, no expense has been spared with Murphy’s frequent collaborators Patti Lupone and Dylan McDermott joining stars including Holland Taylor, Laura Harrier and The Politician’s David Corenswet.

The same can also be said of the pricey-looking sets, with lavish recreations of Los Angeles hotspots and sordid parties providing the backdrop for the sensational twists and turns.

Netflix

But was the series worth Netflix’s cash? Reviews reveal critics are divided…

'A tumescent fantasy about fantasies'

The Standard's TV critic Alastair McKay describes the series as "a fantasy about a fantasy factory" and suggests that is "an onanistic confection designed to be savoured, even as it eats itself."

McKay says the revisionist take on the studio system operates on a "blurry" sliding scale that doesn't always make sense.

"We’re all agreed, post Weinstein, post #MeToo, that the casting couch is a bad idea, but its badness seems less pronounced when it relates to equal opportunities," he writes.

‘As a drama, it’s spineless’

Up next is arguably the most scathing review. The BBC’s Hugh Montgomery is not a fan of Hollywood and Murphy’s rewriting of the town’s history. Despite its efforts to construct an industry where minorities achieve the success they deserve, Montgomery argues “the result comes across as considerably less rousing, and considerably more megalomaniacal, than they presumably intended.”

'More of a fairy tale than an alt-history'

The Hollywood Reporter's critic questions whether revising the 1950s' immoral actions towards groups including older actors and black stars was the right thing to do.

"Hollywood too often comes across as simplistic and naive, though if it causes anyone to research the period depicted, there's value in that," they write, before later adding: "It's an update so rosy it could almost accompany its forward-looking lectures with the Beach Boys' Wouldn't It Be Nice."

Netflix

'The sentimentality of the piece becomes forgiving'

Rolling Stone makes the case for Murphy's sentimental treatment of the lead characters "making Hollywood's weak spots easy to forgive" - but the writer and director doesn't get off scot-free.

"Eventually, the miniseries becomes a bit too self-congratulatory for its own good, even if its intentions are admirable," they add.

'[Hollywood] is less than adept at handling its own complexities'

The AV Club point out the many ironies in the script. For instance, while this is a show about rewriting history to throw the spotlight onto the minority characters, we're introduced to Murphy's Tinseltown by a straight, married, philandering white man (played by David Corenswet).

The cast win praise though, in particular Jake Pickering who plays a version of the real-life star, Rock Hudson.

Noting that sex largely becomes purely transactional (another of the series' interesting manoeuvres), they write: "This strange reupholstering of the casting couch is somewhat balanced by the plight of Rock Hudson."

'The show is never quite sure what it is'

This is perhaps the line that best sums up the critical reception to Hollywood.

Den of Geek write: "While watchable due to its production values, this mismatch of incongruous ideas suffers from the clashing impulses of Murphy and [co-writer Ian] Brennan’s American Horror Story shock value and their Glee era sentimental snake oil."

'A dreamy fantasy'

Variety's critic is not a fan of the characters themselves, writing that Corenswet's Jack is an actor "burdened more with charisma than backstory, ready for the screen to provide him with a reinvention."

"Murphy remains enough in thrall to the Hollywood myth to do little more with Jack’s character than that," they add.

Hollywood arrives on Netflix on Friday.

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