Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss

Described during the closing credits as a 'trifle' by writer-director Tommy O'Haver (ELLA ENCHANTED), this unassuming confection asks little more of its audience than to enjoy the scenery (both geographical and human!) and to pine along with its luckless protagonist as he pursues the hunk of his dreams. Those familiar with Hayes' outrageous turn in TV's "Will & Grace" may be disappointed by his restraint as a bland, scatterbrained idealist who learns the hard way that the course of true love never ran smoothly, especially in LA. Spiced with dream sequences that recreate moments from Hollywood's 'golden age' (most impressively, an Astaire-Rogers dance routine between Hayes and Rowe to the strains of Petula Clark, with drag queens on backing vocals!), the film pays affectionate tribute to the movies of a bygone era, movies which inspire the leading character on his never-ending quest for perfect happiness. Watch out for the magical scene in which Hayes and Rowe share a bed for purely platonic reasons, only to end up touching each other by 'accident'...

Though fluffy and inconsequential, the film is rescued from anonymity by an excellent supporting cast, including Meredith Scott Lynn (STANDING ON FISHES) and Richard Ganoung (PARTING GLANCES) as Hayes' best friends, Paul Bartel (EATING RAOUL) as a veteran photographer who lures Rowe into his professional circle, Carmine D. Giovinazzo (IN ENEMY HANDS) as a stoner who offers Hayes and Lynn a place to stay on his yacht after they pursue Rowe to Bartel's photo-shoot in Catalina (Giovinazzo's rear-view nude scene is funny and sexy, all at the same time!), and Warhol 'superstar' Holly Woodlawn (WOMEN IN REVOLT) as a musical attraction at the gayest party in town! Filmed in vivid color and widescreen Panavision, cinematographer Mark Mervis (HELLBENT) uses every inch of the scope frame in a painterly fashion, though his beautiful panoramic compositions were resisted by the film's nervous backers, according to O'Haver's fascinating DVD audio commentary. Sadly, for his next film (GET OVER IT), the director opted for Super 35, which isn't the same thing at all...

Aside from the aforementioned commentary, Trimark's unambitious DVD offers animated menus and a heavily cropped trailer, and that's it. The main feature's lack of anamorphic encoding is a drawback, but otherwise, picture quality is OK, and the soundtrack serves its purpose.

92m 24s
2.39:1 (Panavision) / Letterboxed
Dolby Surround 2.0
Dolby Stereo [theatrical]
Closed captions
All regions