Di Di Hollywood

I thought that they did a remarkably good job with this variation on the theme of "A Star is Born." There are three main ingredients that combined to make this twisted fairy tale believable.

First, with only few minor rolls, none of the characters were completely despicable nor completely sympathetic.

Second, Elsa Pataky's physical appearance. She always looks appropriate in ways that I would not have thought possible. Most of it is good acting, but there is also skillful makeup and wardrobe.

Finally, the sets and locations are impressive and believable. The humorous exception, here, is their rechristening of the Beverly Hills Hotel as the "Everly Hotel". It looks like there should be a "B" hidden behind the foliage.

Incidentally, there are a few unexpected twists and turns along the way, as well as few more-or-less predictable "surprises."

Disappointingly short on surprises, this Spanish A feature follows the familiar rise to empty fame and glamour trajectory.

The Russian GLITZ was a far more imposing take on this subject.

Bar maid Pataky rises Hollywood stardom, via some kinky activity which includes being cling wrapped by a rich industrialist. You've got to admire her for running this obstacle course.

There's lots of skin, handsome production values, US location shooting and a script that someone should have known wasn't worth all this effort.

Why the director of the exceptional CHAMBER MAID OF THE TITANIC would want to make this one needs some explanation.

Diana (Elsa Pataky) leaves her town to carry out her ¨Dreams of Fame and Fortune¨ . Meanwhile , her friend Maria (Flora Martinez) suffers an abusive relationship she has with her boyfriend . As her ¨Dreams¨ take Diana from Madrid to Miami and later on , Hollywood . After speaking to her mother (Ana Soriano) Diana realizes that she can not give up though she has less Naïve expectations . Diana seems to be on the right path when a powerful agent (Peter Coyote) notices her , and he , commercially , nicknames her as ¨Di Di¨ , but things go wrong when she uncovers a dark secret about her lover . Then , her sweetheart has been snapped getting intimate with a new blond love interest - a man . But she goes on her dream because ¨Di Di is the best¨ , in spite of her way is full of failures and disillusionments.

Entertaining and modern picture -though mediocre- filled with unpleasant roles and concerning a young girl who leaves for Madrid in search of a better life . Second part of Bigas Luna's Trilogy about ambition initiated by ¨Yo Soy La Juani¨ , followed by this one ,¨Di Di Hollywood¨ with Elsa Pataky in a similar role to formerly played by Verónica Echegui . This stirring as well as erotic story is a passionate retelling and moving tale about wishes , lies and disappointments , but including strong sex scenes with loads of nudism . This is a moving tale about ambition , luxury , desire in which a mean young attempts to build her ambitious future : to be a Hollywood actress . The storyline relies heavily on the continued ambition of the starring , including a lot of sexual scenes , almost soft-core , but it doesn't make boring , however the film is fun , but average . As usual in Bigas Luna films , ¨Di Di Hollywood¨ explores the darkest depths of eroticism and Latinos stereotypical , including the Spanish machismo . The moral of the story becomes clear : never forget what you set out to get , despite the struggles that come your way , and never give up on your dreams . So-so acting by Elsa Pataky as an obstinate young whose naïve dreams are soon shattered by the ruthlessness of two dream cities , Miami and Los Angeles , where she has been having a hard time . Decente support cast , such as : Peter Coyote as an ambitious agent who only wants someone for a sham marriage with a secretly gay star , the mistreated Flora Martínez and Paul Sculfor playing a gay smooch , a known actor who was spotted in a same-sex clinch in a Los Angeles swimming pool ; the British hunk Sculfor achieved celebrity status after romancing a string of Hollywood's hottest women , including Diaz, Jennifer Aniston and George Clooney's former lover Lisa Snowdon . Furthermore , the movie packs a colorful cinematography by Albert Pascual , shot on location Madrid , Miami and Los Angeles . Atmospheric musical score plenty of several songs from famous pop singers .

The motion picture was regularly directed by Bigas Luna , following his particular style . He often uses in his films twisted events , erotic scenes and surrealist images . He was a Bon Vivant who along with his wife , produced wine , ham , and organic products ; they are well shown in his films . For 39 years, under General Francisco Franco's repressive regime , it was almost impossible for Spain to create a vibrant film industry and for talented film-makers to express themselves freely . However, after the death of the Generalissimo in 1975, there was a burst of creativity, with Pedro Almodóvar paving the way for directors such as Bigas Luna , who has died of cancer aged 67 . In 1990 the producer Andrés Vicente Gómez persuaded him to return to cinema and entrusted to him the direction of Las Edades De Lulú (The Ages of Lulu) , an erotic drama about a young woman exploring extreme sexual practices , this was a commercial hit . Without abandoning his dedication to painting and photography , reflected in numerous exhibitions , he began the well-known "Iberian Trilogy" with Jamón Jamón ("Ham, Ham", 1992) , Huevos de Oro ("Golden Balls", 1993) and La Teta y La Luna ("The Tit and the Moon", 1994) which explored the darkest depths of eroticism and stereotypical Spanish machismo . Jamón Jamón, which launched the careers of both Javier Bardem and the 16-year-old Penélope Cruz was a major international success and won the Silver Lion at Venice in 1992 . The latter introduced Penélope Cruz to audiences and launched Javier Bardem as the embodiment of the Spanish stud . "I owe my career to Bigas Luna" , Bardem said in 2001 . Cruz returned in ¨Volavérunt¨ (1999), a film about the relationship between Francisco Goya and the Duchess of Alba . This film ¨Di Di Hollywood ¨ is stylishly photographed and smartly designed and here Bigas Luna delivers his ordinary and erotic goods in cool sense of style , but including a lot of unkindly characters .

My opinion is this movie is greatly undervalued, judging by the rather miserable rating. Surely it is far from a masterpiece, has no special plot twists and philosophy that goes no deeper than the necessary, but it shows life as it is, and in life everyone has to pay his or her price. And for the record , Elsa Pataky is just gorgeous and she is doing really great play. In fact all of the actors were top level, especially Peter Coyote, who left us some memorable quotes. Good directors job also. I agree that the story is nothing new under the sun, nothing to remarkable on the script, that is why i wont give it the highest possible score. However it is a finished product, a movie that leaves no room for disappointment from my point of view. A deserved 8 from me.

Frankly, I expected more from Luna. I've not seen many of his films, but as a "big name" you would think he would bring more than this to the table especially as he wrote it, apparently, rather than just being a "gun for hire" director.

It looks pretty, as does the star, of course, but blimey was it predictable.