Avoid Hollywoodland like the plague

I finally checked out Hollywoodland last week. The movie, about the mystery surrounding the death of George Reeves — who played Superman and is portrayed in the film by Ben Affleck, seemed interesting when it hit theaters last fall, but boy oh boy, what a snoozefest!
Now, I’m not the biggest Ben Affleck fan to begin with, but he wasn’t the problem in this movie. For a film about sex, death and old Hollywood henchmen and private eyes, it seemed to lack any enthusiasm.
Reeves, an actor whose only break as landing the role of the man of steel, committed suicide in 1959 after (according to Hollywood lore) he ran into troubles finding work from being typecast as the tights-wearing superhero. In Hollywoodland, private eye Louis Simo (Adrien Brody) tries unsuccessfully to prove Reeves was murdered because of his relationship with a Hollywood honcho’s wife (played by Diane Lane).
Sounds interesting enough. There are a few exciting moments in the film, but for the most part, it’s dullsville. Brody’s character is as unlikable as they come, and Lane, who is usually pretty good, fails to connect with the script — though to be fair the script was filled with plot holes and historical inaccuracies, so Lane really isn’t to blame.
And, for a movie that sets out to solve a mystery, it sure doesn’t make a dent in any of the questions it raises about Reeves’ death.
So, while Reeves’ death was tragic, one could say this movie made it even more so.