B
(out of 5)
Adam (Matthew Ludwinski) comes to Los Angeles to make it as an actor, bunking in with best friend Candy and pounding the pavement trying to get both acting gigs and a job to pay the bills. Both are tough to come by in this heartless town, which is why he is grateful to land a gig as an office boy at a porn studio where co-workers are constantly trying to get his pretty face in front of the camera. He wants to keep his career legit, but it is not long before his financial needs and the coaxing of his new boyfriend (Casper Andreas, who also directs) convince him to take a few sexy shots and film a few hardcore scenes, which plunges him even further into the seedy life when he starts taking cash to spend time with his male fans. One of his clients is a famous TV star who needs to stay in the closet, the two of them developing feelings for each other while Andy’s boyfriend spirals downwards into meth addiction. If it’s supposed to be satire it’s not clever, if it’s supposed to be comedy it’s not funny, and if it’s supposed to be a serious expose on the dark underbelly of the Hollywood dream it has not the least bit of a grasp on reality. Andreas exploits the sexy imagery of broken dreams as much as he judges it, an unpleasant affair saved by a few earnest performances but mostly far too negative and unintelligent to be digestible.
Listen to BGM’s Episode on Going Down In La La Land
Embrem Entertainment, La-La Land Films
USA, 2011
Directed by Casper Andreas
Screenplay by Casper Andreas, based on the novel by Andy Zeffer
Cinematography by Timothy Naylor
Produced by Casper Andreas
Music by Michael W. Barry
Production Design by Shannon Lee FitzGerald
Costume Design by Sarah Jeanne Mgeni
Film Editing by Alexander Hammer
