The Player (1992)
Oh, how Hollywood loves to make films about itself. The Player is very much such an example - a tight and darkly comedic thriller (with the requisite steamy side-plot) about a big-time studio executive who gets caught up in a murder investigation while dealing with a case of personal blackmail and inter-studio politics.
As with so many of the late-great Robert Altman's films, this one has an utterly stellar cast, starring foremost, Tim Robbins, and supported by Peter Gallagher, Whoopi Goldberg, Lyle Lovett, Richard E. Grant, Fred Ward, and Greta Scacchi. The film also features a (remarkably) veritable 'who's who' of cameos of the biggest stars of 90's Hollywood - but I will not spoil the list as spotting the stars throughout the foreground and the background of scenes creates some of the film's fun appeal. The script, written by Michael Tolkin, and based off of his own novel, is self-aware and entertaining, giving an insight into the inner machinations of corporate Hollywood, while simultaneously poking fun at its own forever puffed-out chest. It loses a little bit of steam around the two-thirds mark, however, stick with it and you will be delighted by The Player's finely-crafted and very strong ending.
Like many of the films I try to highlight, this is one of those ones that received high praise in its time (it was nominated for three Academy Awards, and has a 98% RT rating), but it nevertheless has managed to more-or-less disappear into the annals of film history. So, here I am, shovel in hand, attempting to unbury this piece of forgotten treasure for you to (at least for a few hours) be mesmerized by.
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