Review: “Hollywood, je t’aime” is a Gay French Film (Even if it’s Not)

It’s French film that just happens to be (mostly) in English and set in Los Angeles.

Well, not really. Hollywood, je t’aime was written and directed by an apparently American filmmaker, Jason Bushman.

But it sure feels like a French film. It’s not just that it tells the story of Jerome, a Parisian who finds himself unlucky in love and takes an impetuous trip to Los Angeles – a “vacation” that threatens to turn into a whole new life when he decides to pursue his dream of becoming an actor.

It’s that the film has that loose, meandering feel of a French film. The camera is often hand-held, the plot is a series of random-seeming events, and the movie’s approach to sex is refreshingly casual.

It’s not just that the movie contains male nudity – that seems to be pretty much a requirement in gay indie cinema these days. It’s that, as with French film, sex and nudity is just another normal aspect of life, with absolutely no big deal made about it.

There’s even a small surrealistic sub-plot where memories of Jerome's French boyfriend intrude on his experiences in Los Angeles.

In other words, just as the title suggests, Hollywood, je t’aime is something truly different, maybe even revolutionary, in the world of earnest gay cinema.

And for the most part, it works.

Eric Debets has a casual, easy-going charm as the sometimes maddeningly clueless Jerome. There’s a (funny) reoccurring joke where people mention his resemblance to Adrian Brody, and it’s true – he does.

Although he shares top-billing with Debets, out actor Chad Allen has only a very small part as a pot-smoking drifter with whom Jerome has a sort of non-affair.

The movie also does a surprisingly good job of portraying its setting, Los Angeles – a city that is perfect for a fish-out-of-water character like Jerome. Example: he takes a bus from Hollywood to the beach – in December.

But the filmmakers clearly love the city (which is something that’s truly difficult for this former Angeleno to grasp), and their slightly romanticized version is quite interesting.

Next Page! A movie that is more than the sum of its parts!