by Miller C. Lashbrook
I may be late to the party, but after seeing the 2020 Emmy nominations this week, my partner and I knew that we needed to watch Hollywood. So, here are my thoughts on the show. Spoilers ahead!
The first idea that came to mind after finishing the show was actually the speech that Michael Eisner gave at the opening ceremony of what was then Disney’s MGM Studios on May 1, 1989. The phrase that Eisner used to describe what the park represented was, “the Hollywood that never was, but always will be.” Netflix’s Hollywood however is about a Hollywood that could have been or I would even argue should have been.
Like any great period piece about Tinseltown, the show has all the beautiful costumes, set design, and overall production. The show has the right sound with swelling trombones and weeping trumpets. But it goes beyond that.
Hollywood captures, with optimism and a glimmer of hope, the kind of safe haven and champion of diversity that the entertainment industry is only now beginning to get to. A wonderful cast of actors bring flawed but hopeful characters that want to make a difference in the face of adversity.
My one major worry with the show is that the revised history approach May muddy the waters when it comes to real life figures like Rock Hudson and Hattie McDaniel.
Ryan Murphy’s and Netflix have created a show that is simultaneously a love letter to and an apology for old Hollywood that I think most movie lovers and especially people who are only now beginning to see themselves up on the big screen, will delight over. 4.5/5 Twinkles ✨
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