Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.5

Hollywood Shuffle Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman May 7, 2015

There was quite a brouhaha this year when the Academy Award nominations were seen through the prism of racial equality (or inequality, as the case may be), with many minorities lamenting the dearth of non-Caucasian honorees. While much of the umbrage was focused on director Ava DuVernay, whose Selma snagged a Best Picture nomination but which failed to score in DuVernay’s category or indeed any of the performance niches, there was an overall reaction that the Oscars were not properly recognizing the diversity of the film industry's workers. Of course it probably goes without saying that minorities need to actually find work in the film industry before they can become eligible for nominations (not to mention actual awards), and that conundrum drives much of the enjoyable 1987 satire Hollywood Shuffle, a film recounting the trials and tribulations of struggling actor (is there really any other kind?) Bobby Taylor (Robert Townsend, who also co-wrote and directed) as he attempts to make his way in a not exactly glamorous Hollywood. In fact the film is rather relentless in portraying the grimy, at times uncultured, ambience of La-La Land as hordes of would be stars are put through their audition paces, only to find out casting agents and producers are looking for “another type.” Hollywood Shuffle is both agreeably whimsical but also surprisingly poignant at times, offering an unvarnished look at what it’s really like for a black actor without a surname like Poitier or Smith to wend through the labyrinthine hallways of the film industry.

Bobby is first seen in his bathroom, evidently running lines for an upcoming audition with his adorable little brother Stevie (Craigus R. Johnson). In a point that Townsend and co-writer Keenen Ivory Wayans make repeatedly throughout Hollywood Shuffle, since Bobby is (obviously) black, that means the only type of role available to him is as a jive talking (and walking) street gang member. In this particular case, he’s a gang member on the wrong end of a knife held by another gang member, but the upshot is clear: casting choices for men of color are severely limited.

That’s the through line that carries Bobby into a number of amusing (and, later, even touching) vignettes as the film unfolds, but what gives Hollywood Shuffle most of its comedic bite are several fantasy sequences where Bobby’s imagination takes over, and Townsend and Wayans can give full flight to their satiric tendencies, skewering a number of film genres and conventions. The first of these is arguably the funniest and most pointed, as Bobby, waiting in a room full of other desperate black actors all vying for the same limited (and limiting) role, starts fantasizing about a “Black Acting School," in a scene which initially plays as a hilarious send up of Mandingo (keep an eye on Mandingo as he chooses between two black slave girls and a buxom blonde Southern Belle), but which then suddenly has Townsend on hand sending up Stepin Fetchit or Mantan Moreland and other supposedly empty headed “servants” from a later era. Suddenly a director yells “cut!”, and Townsend segues instantly into a pitch perfect British accent as the impresario behind a new Hollywood Black Acting School, where people of color can go to learn things like, well jive talking and jive walking (see screenshot 10 for a listing of the school’s “offerings,” and also pay attention to the patently shocking 800 number, which only someone like Townsend or Wayans could get away with).

Later in another imaginary sequence, two “brothers” assume the roles of a black Siskel and Ebert in Sneaking Into the Movies, where they first watch a variety of send ups, including takes on Amadeus, Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (with maybe just a hint of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid thrown in for good measure) and Dirty Harry. The actual parodies are a mixed lot, but the two critics’ assessments of the film contain several laugh out loud moments (isn’t it nice when a movie reviewer makes you laugh intentionally?).

Unapologetically provocative at times, but always with an undercurrent of sweetness running just beneath its somewhat tart surface, Hollywood Shuffle kind of wants to have its cake and eat it, too, in terms of offering both raucous parodies of films while also toeing a more intimate, supposedly realistic, line with regard to Bobby and his dreams of a film career. Even the final bit, which finds Bobby finally ensconced in a non-stereotypical role, goes for the cheap joke at the end, somewhat undercutting the film’s emotional underpinnings. It’s probably no mere coincidence that both Townsend and Wayans have gone more toward the production side of the film industry. There’s also a bit of irony with regard to one of the final fantasy sequences, which sees Bobby accepting his fifth Academy Award. Obviously that was not at the ceremony held on February 22, 2015.

Hollywood Shuffle Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Hollywood Shuffle is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Olive Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. Elements have pretty typical age related wear and tear, with minor if continual minus density, scratches, nicks, dust and dirt. There's a rather wide variance in the grain structure throughout this presentation, with grain occasionally clumping a bit unnaturally and inorganically looking, something that in turn tends to affect sharpness and clarity. I'd wager a hunch that some of the interstitial film parodies were actually shot on 16mm (see screenshots 16 and 17 for just two examples), for there are moments that are decidedly more grainy and fuzzy than the bulk of the presentation. (IMDb does in fact list both 16mm and 35mm among negative formats for this release.) Colors are still surprisingly vivid, with reds and blues especially deeply saturated. There are some issues with shadow detail throughout the presentation, with elements like costumes (and, frankly, even faces) tending to get swallowed up by surrounding darkness. Detail is generally quite commendable and close-ups can reveal abundant fine detail (see screenshot 3). There a very slight bluish tint generally speaking throughout the presentation, but not to any hugely problematic level.

Hollywood Shuffle Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Hollywood Shuffle features a very enjoyable lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mix, one which offers great support for the wonderful score by bizarrely underappreciated keyboard genius Patrice Rushen. Patrice's sunny voice is heard on several tunes (though whoever edited the tunes over the final credits did a really sloppy job). Dialogue and effects are rendered accurately, with excellent fidelity and no problems of any kind whatsoever.

Hollywood Shuffle Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

There are no supplements on this Blu-ray disc.

Hollywood Shuffle Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Hollywood Shuffle is good natured but just slightly angry at times, probably much like Townsend and Wayans were back in the mid- to late eighties. The film manages to balance its uproarious parodies with more emotionally compelling content involving Bobby's struggles with his career, but it's frankly probably those parodies which end up being the most memorable thing about the film. Townsend is an incredibly winning presence, and it's really rather sad that he either didn't pursue or wasn't offered more regular work in front of the camera. Technical merits are very good if occasionally slightly problematic in the video arena. Recommended.