X
  • 1987
  • R
  • The Samuel Goldwyn Company
  • 1 h 21 m
  • 1987
  • R
  • The Samuel Goldwyn Company
  • 1 h 21 m

Summary An actor (Robert Townsend) limited to stereotypical roles because of his ethnicity, dreams of making it big as a highly respected performer. As he makes his rounds, the film takes a satiric look at African American actors in Hollywood.

Directed By: Robert Townsend

Written By: Dom Irrera, Keenen Ivory Wayans, Robert Townsend

  • 1987
  • R
  • The Samuel Goldwyn Company
  • 1 h 21 m
  • 1987
  • R
  • The Samuel Goldwyn Company
  • 1 h 21 m

Hollywood Shuffle

Metascore Generally Favorable Based on 14 Critic Reviews
74
User Score Available after 4 ratings
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Where to Watch

Summary An actor (Robert Townsend) limited to stereotypical roles because of his ethnicity, dreams of making it big as a highly respected performer. As he makes his rounds, the film takes a satiric look at African American actors in Hollywood.

Directed By: Robert Townsend

Written By: Dom Irrera, Keenen Ivory Wayans, Robert Townsend

Where to Watch

Top Cast

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Critic Reviews

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Metascore
Generally Favorable Based on 14 Critic Reviews
74
79% Positive
11 Reviews
21% Mixed
3 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews

Critic Reviews

 View All
Metascore
Generally Favorable Based on 14 Critic Reviews
74
79% Positive
11 Reviews
21% Mixed
3 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews
90
The film has some clumsy scenes, and sometimes the director overcrowds his comedy. The remarkable thing, however, is that for a mere $100,000, Townsend and company have made a funny, poignant and technically proficient film -- one that should thoroughly embarrass those studios that routinely offer up badly made, multimillion-dollar disasters.
FULL REVIEW
80
Despite the film's conspicuously minuscule budget and shaky narrative structure, it is funny. If you value enthusiasm and imagination more than glossy sophistication, you'll laugh.
By Geoff Andrew FULL REVIEW
80
Hollywood Shuffle is boisterous, out-at-the elbows movie making, an uneven series of skits, really, rather than a consistent whole. But there are wonderful comic moments here, alongside ones that droop from having gone on too long. And pervading the film is an unquenchable air--of optimism, even of community, which uses comedy to address some grievous inequities.
By Sheila Benson FULL REVIEW
75
Consistency isn't the chief virtue of Robert Townsend's Hollywood Shuffle, but at its best this ragged satire is bracingly, caustically funny. [27 Mar 1987, p.F-C]
By Dave Kehr FULL REVIEW
75
Under the circumstances, Hollywood Shuffle is an artistic compromise but a logistical triumph, announcing the arrival of a new talent whose next movie should really be something.
By Roger Ebert FULL REVIEW
60
Townsend explodes the industry's tunnel vision in a series of skits, the best of which are explosively funny. His vision of the Black Acting School, run by white instructors ("You, too, can learn to walk black"), captures the movie's message in a raucous nutshell. He also gives us a memorable black street version of a Siskel-Ebert-type critic show called "Sneakin' in the Movies." This supercheapo flick ($ 100,000) is a hit-or-miss affair, but it comes as a tonic: no one's made this movie before. [6 Apr 1987, p.64]
By David Ansen FULL REVIEW
50
Rarely has a film so ineptly directed produced so much intentional laughter.
FULL REVIEW

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Details

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Production Company Conquering Unicorn
Release Date Mar 20, 1987
Duration 1 h 21 m
Rating R
Genres
Tagline Bobby Taylor was on his way to becoming a star, when a funny thing happened.....
View All Details

Awards

Image Awards (NAACP)
• 3 Nominations
Amiens International Film Festival
• 2 Wins & 2 Nominations
Deauville Film Festival
• 2 Wins & 2 Nominations

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