Photo by Giorgio Trovato on Unsplash
Ryan Murphy’s works are always pretty interesting, by which I obviously mean quirky and weird. So when he offers a fictional retelling of 1940’s Hollywood with some amazing actors, I pay attention. Especially given that Ryan Murphy’s Hollywood is a lot more accessible than the inside reference-laden Once Upon A Time In Hollywood. I mean, I loved it, but didn’t get a lot of it, which is on me and not Tarantino.
Hollywood Is A Star-Studded Affair About Stars And Their Studs
Ryan Murphy’s Hollywood is a Netflix original series about dreamers in the early studio era of Hollywood. The story opens on Jack Costello (David Corenswet), a war veteran turned actor, and his struggle to make it big. Unable to make ends meet, Jack gets a job at charismatic Ernie West’s (Dylan McDemott) gas station. Little does he know that it’s also a place where the Elite came to sow their oats. Ernie is basically whatever the male version of a Madame is, and the gas station is a secret male brothel. Initially, Jack is hesitant but submits due to his financial woes.
Hollywood’s story starts off incredibly cynical and dark. It’s what you would expect from a story about the desperation of ‘making it’ in tinseltown. Dark, grimy and scandalous. But the show quickly turns into an idealistic alt-history version of the the studio era. The story becomes about an ensemble consisting of struggling Black actress Camille Washington (Laura Harrier), bi-racial director Raymond Ainsley (Darren Criss) who has something to prove, Black and gay screenwriter Archie Coleman (Jeremy Pope) and vicious manager Henry Willson (Jim Parsons). The bigger story of Hollywood is about these characters and their struggle to follow their dreams, when their basic human rights were denied.
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Ryan Murphy’s Hollywood Looks Through Societal Issues Through An Idealistic Lens
The greatest thing about Hollywood is how it is set in a complacent time in America’s history, but retcons it into something beautiful. This is pre-The Civil Rights movement. A time when women and people of colour, despite their frustrations and anger, had to live in a world without equal rights. So the depiction of characters who are outcasts in society due to race, creed, and sexual orientation and how they shoot their shot, is honestly inspiring. Especially during an era when being yourself could get you killed. The resilience of the other characters who act as allies without prejudice is also heartwarming.
Ryan Murphy’s Hollywood’s main story is about this group and their desire to make an inter-racial romance movie with a Black leading lady, written by a Black and gay writer, featuring an Asian supporting actress, greenlit by a woman studio head. And all the challenges that come with it, of which there are many.
Hollywood is an industry that even today has negative connotations behind the scenes. The #MeToo movement only served to further expose what a devastatingly horrible place it can be. So for Ryan Murphy’s Hollywood to show an alternate world where people can be better, and actually succeed with their integrity intact, is the ideal kind of rewriting of history that we should all be able to get on board with. And despite being fiction, Hollywood is a testament to how the actions of a brave few, can change the world. Not to get too sappy about it all.
Ryan Murphy’s Hollywood is currently streaming on Netflix.
What did you think of Hollywood’s retelling of history? Let me know in the comments below.