Hollywood

Though optimism for its worthy cause is infused in every scene, there’s an underlying sadness to Hollywood.

A fun, frothy, limited-series period drama.

Grandiose yet often captivating Netflix drama. ... About halfway through, it will dawn on a viewer that the most provocative part of “Hollywood” is not its sauciness; it’s that the show fully intends to hand out happy endings the way Oprah used to give away cars.

While it doesn’t quite sell its point, it doesn’t fail to entertain.

It’s a wholly unique story that might not land with everyone – some viewers may find it hard to accept the show’s whimsical heightened reality along with its R-rated elements, and the show’s earnestness could be mistaken for naivety. But there can be wisdom in naivety, and I found it impossible not to smile with genuine joy every time the show’s many pieces fell so perfectly into place.

It’s an intentionally delicious and messy show, born to be binged, although a lot of the name-dropping – Tallulah Bankhead, Noel Coward -- may float right by some. No matter, its glittery blend of the tacky, corny and controversial, while lacking real weight, is an escapist balm.

"Hollywood" mostly manages to achieve a tricky balance of shifting tones. Although it occasionally meanders into melodrama and morality lessons, "Hollywood" is a mostly kicky story that imagines what would happen if old-fashioned pictures were a little more newfangled.

Hollywood is a retro fairy tale — a progressive, partly preposterous semi-lucid dream in which the underdogs actually win. It's unbelievable but sumptuous, just like all fairy tales should be.

Hollywood flops as often as it soars, but never rests in its grandiosity and ambition. The result is something escapist and frothy at a time when a retreat to a Hollywood happy ending is as alluring a fantasy as they come.

Murphy has always been better at big ideas than small details, and the sentimentality of the piece, coupled with the potency of many of the performances, after a while becomes infectious, making Hollywood’s weak spots easy to forgive. Eventually, the miniseries becomes a bit too self-congratulatory for its own good, even if its intentions are admirable.

As silly as the series’ exaggerated plotting can be—and it definitely takes a bit to tie all its odds and ends together (the components that, in Hollywood’s vernacular, would make it a “message picture”)—everything eventually coalesces during production.

Hollywood has its heart in the right place, and if you have a love for movies' Golden Age, there's a whole lot of meticulously shot nostalgia to savor. Still, rewriting history is always a thorny proposition, and producer Ryan Murphy's latest Netflix limited series doesn't earn unqualified hoorays.

Yes, it’s a mixed bag, but there’s heart in the “Hollywood can change the world, let’s try it” ethos. And there are laughs, none bigger than Jim Parsons, letting his contemptuous, foul-mouthed freak flag fly at every gorgeous “Greek god” who comes to his office for a “meeting,” a signing and a sexual transaction.

I left Hollywood feeling more entertained and uplifted than annoyed. Sometimes it's nice to see the good guys get a win, even if they haven't really earned it. (Kristen Baldwin's grade: B) Something about Hollywood’s grinning simplicity — its crushing certainty that good people make good art that earns good money and is good for society — left me cold. (Darren Franich's grade: C)