Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, March 31, 1994                   TAG: 9403300076
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: 6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: By Mike Mayo CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

`JIMMY HOLLYWOOD' NOT IN MAINSTREAM

Perhaps the most unusual thing about the picture is the fact that it's a mainstream studio production in the first place. At heart, this is the sort of quirky movie-about-movies that you'd expect to see from a bright, promising kid trying to establish a name for himself. It would make the rounds of festivals, develop a following in limited release and then show up on video.

Instead, "Jimmy Hollywood" was written and directed by Barry Levinson, an established, well-respected filmmaker known for "Rainman," "Bugsy" and other mainstream titles. He's almost the last person you'd expect to find telling the story of a struggling, 40-plus actor trying to break into the movie business.

That's where Jimmy Alto (Joe Pesci) is. He's an intense, emotional guy who has just looted his girlfriend Lorraine's (Victoria Abril) checking account to place an ad for himself on a bus bench. Even though he sees the squalid reality of Hollywood all around him, he still believes in the city's celluloid fantasies.

With his dazed and confused (possibly brain-damaged) friend William (Christian Slater) as a sidekick, Jimmy wanders through a series of jobs, always hoping for a break. But when someone busts out a window on his aging clunker and steals the radio, it's the last straw. Jimmy refuses to be a victim any more. He and William manage to catch the thief, and after one of William's little lapses, a TV station turns them into minor league media heroes.

In a series of videotapes, Jimmy becomes Jerico, leader of the S.O.S. vigilantes. Actually, from Jimmy's point of view, he's an actor playing Jerico; that's an important distinction. He doesn't want to be a hero. He wants to be a star.

While the film could have become a more realistic take on the various "Death Wish" fantasies, Levinson is up to something else. Though these aren't precise comparisons, he's working with some of the same material Martin Scorsese covered in "King of Comedy." More recently, Joel Schumacher told a similar West Coast story in "Falling Down." "Jimmy Hollywood" isn't as intense or as violent as either of those. It meanders along at its own unhurried pace, slowly revealing more and more about these characters.

Though Victoria Abril and Christian Slater turn in first-rate supporting work, Pesci's aggressive performance provides the energy that drives the film. With an incredible orange-blond hairdo and equally hideous wardrobe, he's both flamboyant and repulsive.

The film itself suffers from the same contradictions. As a comedy, it's never very funny. As a drama, it's so slow and unfocused that it doesn't develop any real tension. As an examination of contemporary urban problems, it has such a light touch that it says nothing new.

"Jimmy Hollywood" is, in both the best and worst meanings of the word, interesting.

Jimmy Hollwood **

A Paramount release playing at the Valley View Mall 6. 108 min. Rated R for strong language, some violence, subject matter.