Jimmy Hollywood is a 1994 American comedy film written and directed by Barry Levinson and starring Joe Pesci and Christian Slater. It was released on April 1, 1994 and was a box-office bomb, grossing just $3 million against its $30 million budget.
Contents
Plot
Jimmy Alto is a failing actor living in Los Angeles. After increasing frustration with his career going nowhere and with crime in the city, Jimmy, along with his "spaced-out" best friend William, decides to take the law into his own hands.
After losing his job as a waiter, Jimmy transforms himself into "Jericho," leader of a mock-vigilante group that videotapes criminals and then turns them over to the police. Jimmy enjoys the free publicity, anonymously but eventually the police begin to close in on him, resulting in a tense standoff at the Grauman's Egyptian Theatre.
Cast
Joe Pesci as Jimmy Alto / Jericho
Christian Slater as William
Victoria Abril as Lorraine De La Peña
Jason Beghe as Detective
John Cothran, Jr. as Detective
Hal Fishman as Hal
Jerry Dunphy as Anchorperson
Claudia Haro as Newscaster
Arthel Neville as Newscaster
Robert LaSardo as Robber
Richard Kind as Driver
Marcus Giamatti as Preppie
James Pickens Jr. as Cook
Lou Cutell as Meyerhoff
Thomas Rosales Jr. as Tough Guy
Chuck Zito as Tough Guy
Earl Billings as Captain
Rob Weiss as Himself
Chad McQueen as Himself
Robbi Chong as Secretary
Jodie Markell as Assistant
Barry Levinson as Himself
Reginald Ballard as Man on Street
Harrison Ford as Himself (uncredited)
Production
Robbie Robertson created music for the film and produced the soundtrack with Howard Drossin providing additional music.
Reception
Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a 28% approval rating from a sample of 25 reviews, with an average rating of 4.1/10. Roger Ebert gave the film 21⁄2 stars out of 4. Ebert praised the actors "who find the right tone for the material", but criticize the plot, which "weighs them down". He concluded "Here are characters who might have really amounted to something, and we can see the movie dying right under their feet."
Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "C" on an A+ to F scale. Produced on a budget of $30 million, the film made less than $4 million in ticket sales.