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Cast:
Ryan
O'Neal
Eric
Idle
Richard
Jeni
Coolio
Chuck
D.
Jackie
Chan
Sylvester
Stallone
Whoopi
Goldberg
Producer:
Ben
Myron
Director:
Arthur
Hiller
Score:
 
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BURN
HOLLYWOOD BURN
AKA:
An Alan Smithee Film
Year:
1997 Reviewer: Phil
Mills
Made
a year before the huge success of 'Rush
Hour', 'Burn Hollywood Burn' has to be Jackie Chan's most
bizarre attempt to infiltrate his image into the American
market as not only is his role a small one, but it is also did
nothing to enhance his reputation.
'Trio'
is going to be the biggest movie ever! Uniting three of
Hollywood's A-list stars in the form of Sylvester Stallone,
Jackie Chan and Whoopi Goldberg (?!), the film promises to
deliver all the action and adventure you could wish for but
there is one small problem - the only print in existence has
just been stolen. Ironically, it's the director Alan
Smithee (the name used by a director when he disowns his movie
but as a twist here it's his real name) who has taken it
because he just thinks his masterpiece has been so butchered
by the Hollywood executives that he can't bear to let anyway
see the mess that is left. And so, 'Burn Hollywood Burn'
tells his story through the eyes of all involved but as the
mystery unfolds, we are left wondering if anyone will ever
come out on top or if 'Trio' ever made it to the big screen?
From
the perspective of a Jackie Chan fan, 'Burn Hollywood Burn'
can certainly be labelled as a disaster. Chan's presence
within this mock documentary is limited to no more than
a few brief appearances in which he demonstrates just how poor
his grasp of English was at the time or hams up his tough-guy
image to little effect. There is very little of the Chan
we know and love on display and if anything, it feels like
nothing more than another example of the typical stereotypical
Hollywood image of an Asian actor as the new Bruce Lee.
With this in mind, it's difficult to see exactly why Jackie
would have chosen to appear in this movie other than as a
favour to his friend, Sylvester Stallone, as it was never
likely to further his career in the U.S. and on paper it can't
have been a very appealing idea. To put it simply, there's no
action, no acting and no real contribution from Chan the man
so fans should be well aware that there is little to be taken
from this movie other than an opportunity to complete your
collection.
The
presence of Chan aside, 'Burn Hollywood Burn' still proves to
be an unsatisfying piece of cinema. During the opening
segment it is possible to see exactly what the producers were
hoping for with some successful satirical jabs at the
Hollywood filmmaking process but it soon becomes apparent that
the picture is losing it's way. With the introduction of
stars like Coolio and Chuck D, the story develops into a
farce, moving away from it's original intention and choosing
to opt into the crude joke department with a ridiculous and
far fetched tangent to the plot. The film is also filled
with just far too much talking for it to appeal to the average
moviegoer as it ploughs through numerous interviews with cast
and crew that soon become tiresome and repetitive, wasting the
talent of most of the recognisable actors. As a final
demonstration of just how disappointing this film is, it's
somewhat ironic that the actual director chose not to put his
name to the movie (although we have listed him here) and labelled
it as an Alan Smithee directed film which shows that even he
was unsatisfied with his final work.
Overall
then, this is certainly not a film that I would recommend to
the average Chan fan. There are a few (and I mean a few)
nice ideas but it's certainly not intended as a showcase for
Chan as there's very little screen time for the world's most
famous action hero, and what time there is would probably have
been better spent elsewhere.
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