The Hot Button, Movie City News
David Poland
If you care about the art of acting and/or film acting,
it's a wonderful way to spend 89 minutes.
I
didn't really expect to fall for this very personal documentary from
Christopher Monger, Karen Montgomery and Julie Warner. You may kind of recognize the name
"Roy London" from The Larry Sanders Show or other places where he
worked or was thanked. He was an
actor who became one of Hollywood's top film acting gurus. His great successes include bringing
new depth to the careers of Sharon Stone, Geena Davis and Patrick Swayze. The
film is a post-mortem love letter from dozens and dozens of his students and
loved ones. And as an endless parade of talking heads, the early parts of the
film make one worried that it's just going to be self-indulgent. But as it goes
on, the amazing passion for this man and what he gave to these actors becomes
more and more intoxicating. By
the time we get to his passing and the kind of moments with Lois Chiles which
make you ready to see her career come back strong, the relationship of the
actor and the script and the work is the story and Roy London is serving it
valiantly, even from beyond the grave.
The range of stories from actors of all kinds of levels of fame is
remarkable... from Patricia
Arquette figuring out how to react to Clarence killing her pimp in True Romance
to Garry Shandling acknowledging his reliance on London during the Larry
Sanders period to Elizabeth Berkley showing just how much London loved actors,
demanding that she reach for something deeper than her make-up. If
you care about the art of acting and/or film acting, it's a wonderful way to
spend 89 minutes.
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