Ellie Parker (2005)

More Hollywood inside baseball

Can't filmmakers think of anything else but how interesting their own lives are? Really, this is another spoof of how movies are made, how actors behave, how the film industry grinds up people etc etc. There must be dozens of these things. Movies about the movies. Zzzzzz. This one is shot on video and looks it. There's no plot. Just something about the trials of an actress and her life. It has its moments, and I did watch the whole thing. But, why, I'm not sure. Take your chances. September 19, 2008

Naomi Watts gives a as-good-as-it-gets performance

Saw a snippet of this on the Sundance channel and it looked so different and interesting I immediately went out and rented the dvd. That different look comes from that the movie was "shot on a Sony DCR PC 100" as the end credits spell out. But really, that is just one facet of an overall picture that must also include the star, Naomi Watts who gives a superb performance playing a tough job-seeking actress out in L.A. Other superb facets include the script and the camera visuals. This was really like no other film I've seen except for maybe Time Code or Mulholland Drive. Naomi plays Ellie, a actress who we see ferrying about to different auditions, preparing for them, agonizing over them and watching her act in them.
We also get to see large chunks of her personal life with her standard issue boyfriend, her also actress best girlfriend and her acting class lorded over by a coke-sniffing instructor.
I rate the movie 5 stars because we get to watch Miss Watts exhibiting incredible acting chops and the LOOK of the movie which I must owe to the fabled "shot on Sony DCR PC 100" credit.
the dialogue is excellent.
I could...deduct a star for what I feel is a bit of a inconsequential conclusion but it's all so good up to that point.
This movie would also come in very handy for anyone considering a career in acting because the details of what that would be like are all portrayed here very accurately.
And I must once again commend Naomi Watts' acting. It was facinating watching her act in this.
April 19, 2008

Refreshing Perspective of Acting

Ellie Parker is an interesting movie to watch. It's not an incredibly good one, but it is effective. The handheld looks adds authenticity and realism to it, but some of the movie's events are less than real.

Naomi Watts and Scott Coffey met on the set of Danid Lynch's Mulholland Drive and a friendship and short film sprung from this encounter.

The short film, Ellie Parker, grew into this film today.

For what it's worth, I did enjoy it. Naomi Watts gives a great performance and it has the right amount of quirkiness to keep you interested.

The DVD features a commentary from director Scott Coffey, a behind the scenes featurette, and plenty of deleted scenes.

Although this isn't a film I would recommend, it's at least worth a good look. October 14, 2007

Cool look inside the Hollyweird Wannabee Society

First off, to any potential buyers who have not already caught this on cable or sundance channel, note that this is not a real "film," as it is shot on video, and does not incorporate newer technology which can make video look very similar to actual filmstock. This is a video, and has a videotape quality (though good in quality), not a film. Still, perhaps it was the maker's intentions (or limited budget), and I can't really fault this work for it's non-filmic, direct to video "look."

Films (or feature length fictional video productions like this) about those out in LaLaLand (LA) trying to "make it" in the "industry," have always been around, basically from "Sunset Boulevard" to present. "The Player" comes to mind, as well as others, but in the "video" mode, I can only think of another more recent "film" as good as this, and that would be "Camp Hollywood," which deals with a roach motel just above Hollywood Blvd. If you liked "Ellie Parker" you will love "Camp Hollywood" and vica versa. What makes "Ellie Parker" special however can be summed up in two words. Naomi Watts.

Unlike "Camp Hollywood," this film concentrates on the main character first and foremost, and includes a few key supporting roles instead of being an overall, numerous character essay on the struggle for fame and fortune out in Dreamland. While the supporting characters add a lot here, none come close to Naomi's performance. Given, she is the main character, and title of this work, but sprinkled throughout are keen insights into this whole LA wannabee subculture. Having lived it myself for a decade and a half, but behind the camera and at my keyboard, so much of this touches home.

"Ellie" (Naomi) is a beautiful, young actress with a few credits to her name and a lower-class agent, and with a lot of unrecognized, unrewarded talent. As such, she kind of represents an "everywoman" of those 1000's like her, past, present, and future, who come to LA with dreams of making it big. Trouble is, as I myself found out in tinseltown, "talent" is pretty low on qualifications of "making it" out there. "Ellie" can obviously act, and in a non-method manner, but she is torn by her own self belief and esteem, is not getting many "call-backs," is losing hope, and has a jerk as a boyfriend/ex-boyfriend, and is surrounded by typical LA wannabees. All trying to be what they are not.

Trouble is, we see from the beginning that "Ellie" really does have some amazing acting gifts, and her expertly playing various role characters throughout only add to our immediate sympathy and empathy with her. But she is frustrated every step along the way. Naomi Watts really does a great job, in all her various exploits, but despite it all, in the end, after meaningless affairs, drug/alcohol Hollywood parties, a lame agent, and a therapist she refers to as "the rapist," Ellie makes progressively better decisions along the way, leading to a very satisfying end.

Though slow at times, there are also frantic moments, and it's a shame this couldn't have been filmed, not videotaped. I can relate to this on a personal level, but I'm sure a few million who've ever tried to get anywhere in the "biz" out west (or back east) but failed, for whatever reasons (and there are so many), will immediately find a connection here. This is a work which lends itself to repeated viewings, just to catch all the nuances and talents of Naomi. She is at her best here, and while there are technical and other elements which detract from this flick, overall, it's a very good look into the life of one poor soul as she attempts to "make it" in the City of Angels (and lost souls).

The final, ending shot is perfect and brought back a lot of memories, as a long time ago, it was my own final vision upon my own escape from LA. Though with faults, this is a must-rent at least (or catch on cable), and any Naomi fan worth their salt will want to own this. A rare and pretty damn good look into the soft underbelly of the "promise" and "lies" and "hardships/impossibilities" of Hollywoodland. And with plenty of LA sights and sounds and characters (and who in LA ISN'T ONE?), which may also appeal to anyone who's ever lived there but just had to leave, for one reason or millions.

Naomi Watts is obviously a great actress, based upon this and some of her other films, and I was only left with the ironic and satirical insight that there are probably 1000's of other wannabee Ellies out there, right now, right there, in the land of fruits and nuts who feel they are just as much an actress and talent as Naomi, if they could only get that big break. And you know, they're all right... July 21, 2007

Silly, fake soap opera

"What is it?" Kurt Vonnegut overheard a Martian visitor say. "What can (life on earth) possibly be about. . .just blow jobs and golf?"
No, Martian visitor, there are horrible movies also. (Although Naomi Watts is talented. . .and because she is very beautiful and momentarily nude, I admit replaying the bubble bath scene five times.) July 13, 2007

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