Review: Hollywood Werewolf

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2023
Images from the Internet

Hollywood Werewolf
Directed by James Balsamo
Acid Bath Productions
91 minutes, 2023
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As I have said before, when you get a James Balsamo film, you get consistency: bizarre silliness, puns, cameos, and it rarely rises above ridiculous. And yet, every time I hear a new one is out, I get excited. If you are looking for some deep, serious narratives, meaningful acting, and arty motifs, well, you just have not been paying attention.

Andy Dick, James Balsamo

For his latest, he has managed to rope in Andy Dick (most known for “NewsRadio” and bad behaviour) as the titular Elliot Wolf. He was a child star who hit the lowest points possible, not including being a werewolf (which we see right off the bat). But it was this that led him to the lead part of (a different, as is pointed out multiple times) visionary director Elliot Wolf’s new film, Hollywood Werewolf.

The premise of this film is a mock documentary by director Wolf about actor/werewolf Wolf. Confusing? I think not. This style sets up well for the inclusion of many and many a cameo by cult musicians, actors and filmmakers, a motif that is omnipresent in Balsamo’s films.

Documentary films tend to be short segments strung together in a common theme or topic. This gives a chance for multiple people to ad lib and have some obvious fun as they promote their own characters, such as “Saved by the Bell’s” Troy Fromin’s audition tape for (director) Wolf’s next art film, “The Life and Death of an Avocado.” Mixed in are insults to (actor) Wolf by the likes of a fired cue-card guy, his limo driver (who turned Wolf in when he killed three strippers, but still drove him to the trial), and his poor bedraggled manager, Marvin Orange (Balsamo regular and voice actor for multiple Manga films, G. Larry Butler).

Then, of course, there are interviews with (actor) Wolf’s ex-girlfriends, whose talking heads are mixed with “sex tape” scenes of them in a shower, covering themselves with various food substances, such as chocolate sauce and baked beans/hotdogs (surely to show up in Balsamo’s nudity Sexy Time collections).

I will say that some of the jokes that are bandied about throughout generally work pretty well here, many dealing with the names of films, or insults to actors (such as Lindsay Lohan; see the trailer below). Some people interviewed are given names like Chet Taint and David Davidson, and have descriptor titles like “Wind Enthusiast” or “Urethral Sound Enthusiast.”

Balsamo has come a long way from cameos where some band member(s) or actors were obviously filmed in an alleyway or on the street during a convention where they just insult Balsamo’s character, whichever it is in a particular film. Here his drop-ins play parts and seem more connected to the storyline (and from what I can tell, this ain’t nuthin’ compared to one of his next films, Robot Dracula), such as Eric Roberts, who has also appeared and starred in a number of Balsamo releases.

As for Andy Dick being the star of this, well, I will say he was physically present. He did not seem very engaged with what he was doing, but he actually is not in the film very much (which is probably a good thing), but the name recognition works. I liked the sparse werewolf make-up, though, which reminded me – in part – of Michael J. Fox’s in Teen Wolf (1985)

Despite the bouncing boobies and petulant puns, there is an interesting sociological aspect to this film. No, I’m serious! On one hand, it is a commentary on the temporary fame of child stars and how it can screw up one’s life. There are so many examples of this, like Anissa Jones (d. 1976, age 18), Aaron Carter (d. 2022, age 34), Todd Bridges, Erin Moran (2017, age 56), and Dana Plato (d. 1999, age 36), as well as so many others. Child actor Paul Peterson even “founded a child-actor support group, A Minor Consideration, to improve working conditions for child actors and to assist in the transition between working as a child actor and adult life” (Wikipedia).

Another aspect worth noting is the effects of fame on those unprepared for it, and how the need to sustain that level of notoriety even when undeserved for any real talent (think Kardashians). That is where our titular Wolf stands, at the crossroads of both of these junctures.

IMDB listing HERE