hyped garbage

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Two weeks in the life of a fading Hollywood producer who's having a rough time trying to get his new picture made. This is without a doubt the most weird movie Robert De Niro ever starred in although the cast that follows is really great Sean Penn, Robin Wright, Kristen Stewart, John Turturro, Catherine Keener, Stanley Tucci and Bruce Willis this movie was definitely made just in order to show the inside of the big shiny Hollywood life and sure it's slow paced and boring at times but it's a fun, dumb and stupid movie with a great cast and if you turn off your brain you might like it who knows. I'm going to give What Just Happened a 7/10.

Here's the Test. Could You Find the Least Bit of Funny in a Scene where an A-List Actor is Paid Twenty Million Dollars to Star in a Movie and then is Asked to Shave Off a Lengthy Beard, Refuses, and then Throws a Tantrum Throwing Anything that isn't Nailed Down Around the Room? If the Answer is Yes, You Might Enjoy this Misfire. If the Answer is No, Forget this Mess.It is Only Mildly Amusing in Places and is Embarrassingly Bad Most of the Time. The Fun in Seeing Big Name Actors Play Themselves Wears Thin Quickly as the Cringing Begins Early and Continues for Nearly Two Hours.Robert De Niro, One of the Big Stars who doesn't Play Himself, is a Producer and this is His Life, or at Least Life While Making a Movie or Two. The Setbacks from Bad Press Screenings and Juvenile Behavior from Very Rich and Powerful People is the Story and it is Not that Funny or Even Insightful. You can get this Stuff from People Magazine. It is Maladjusted Mania of Mega Stars in a World that is Ironically Unattractive and Approaching this Thing is a Narcissistic Vent about Hollywood Seen through the Professional and Personal Eyes of a Movie Producer, and Surprise, None of it is Much Fun. When the Egotistical Bruce Willis Exits His Trailer it is One of the Most God-Awful Embarrassments that Movie Makers have Made Movie Lovers Sit Through. It is Suppose to be Charming but it Makes the Cringe Meter Explode.The Special Screening Cards that were Submitted on this Movie, Wait, On Second Thought One Doubts Director Levinson and Company had the Chutzpah to Try Any Advance Screenings on this Bomb. The Cards Would have been Brutal.

"What Just Happened" tells the story of a fading Hollywood producer... and that's all. Nothing extraordinary happens to him throughout the course of the film. He squabbles with his ex-wife, argues with stubborn actors and nurtures frustrated directors while trying to please the studio head... pretty much what every producer has done since the dawn of the film industry. I kept waiting for the moment that his life would spin into new, unexpected territory to justify the film but it never happened.Robert DeNiro is great in the lead- completely believable as a passionate man whose job is to mute himself in order to serve everyone else's passions. (Is it me or does he look much better with the goatee these days?) The movie is based on real-life producer Art Linson's book which is chock-full of anecdotes and true stories of absurdity from the world of film-making. I'm guessing the book plays much better than the movie.The movie, in fact, plays more like a pilot for a television series since it sets up a sympathetic lead character and all his supporting cast: his estranged daughter, his dullard assistant, his drama queen director, unshakable studio exec... and yet we get no real payoff for any of the plot lines: Where does DeNiro call his daughter a slut? Where does he punch out the director for changing the ending to his film? Where does he sabotage his friend's screenplay for sleeping with his ex-wife?Not here. This is just an average week in the life of a Hollywood power-broker, and a rather unremarkable one at that. What a waste...GRADE: C

A producer(DeNiro) with two ex-wives and families tries to get a British artsy director(Wincott) to change the ending of their most recent film, and Bruce Willis to shave off a beard(he's also gained weight, but no one seems to worry about him losing *that*) before he stars in a movie. The clock is ticking on both, and it's astounding just how little we care. Oh, and yes, that actually is the entire story. It certainly isn't enough for a feature. Maybe this should have been a TV pilot? There are several subplots, one more unresolved and utterly pointless than the next. I haven't read the memoirs that this is based upon. The acting is good, with the possible exception of Tucci(not sure what happened there). We've got real talent, but they can't reanimate the dead material they're given. There is barely anything funny in this at all. The handful of jokes are drawn out endlessly. Granted, Robert talking with Robin and "trying to be understanding" is amusing, and this can make you smile every now and then. On the whole, the punchline is that Hollywood is full of sex with underage girls, drugs and personal problems. Newsflash: We know. And it isn't delivered in any kind of fresh way. Maybe part of the issue is that these are in-jokes... we don't get them. This has been called indulgent and arrogant, and I completely agree. Why make a big flick that won't appeal to anyone not in the business? This is slow-paced and incredibly boring. It's too bad, because the editing and cinematography(with some hand-held camera) aren't bad. This is meant to be a satire... I'd go for S1m0ne over it any day. It's the worst I've seen by Levinson. There is a bunch of strong language, a bit of moderate, bloody violence and disturbing content and brief nudity in this. The DVD comes with a trailer. I recommend this only to the most forgiving of potential viewers. 5/10