L&S America Online   Subscribe
Advertise
Home Lighting Sound AmericaIndustry News Contacts
NewsNews
NewsNews

-Today's News

-Last 7 Days

-Theatre in Review

-Business News + Industry Support

-People News

-Product News

-Subscribe to News

-Subscribe to LSA Mag

-News Archive

-Media Kit

Theatre in Review: The Money Shot (MCC/Lucille Lortel Theatre)

Elizabeth Reaser. Photo: Joan Marcus

From Kaufman and Hart to Douglas Carter Beane, it seems that every playwright sooner or later must take a knife to the (lack of) manners and (appallingly low) morals in Hollywood. Fine by me: Some the tastiest satires in the American canon have rehashed the scheming, backstabbing ways of the film industry. Neil LaBute has logged some serious time in Southern California, as a screenwriter and director, and more than most, he knows whereof he writes -- which is probably why The Money Shot is one of his strongest plays in years.

It's also one of his funniest. Given the author's often rather dour, sermonizing ways, this may seem like faint praise indeed. But this time out, LaBute has apparently decided that his characters are so awful, they're funny. The first half of The Money Shot gathers together his cast of four characters for a dinner high in the Hollywood Hills, a setup that allows us to relish their transparent falsity, constant one-upmanship, and extensive glossary of clichés. We are at the home of Karen, a leading lady who, having come out as a lesbian, is trying to turn herself into a "brand," launching product lines and lending her name to any charity that will nab her a quick headline. "We try to bring special-needs kids up for picnics twice a month. It's our way of giving back," she says, preening as if the Irving Thalberg Award is about to be handed over. Karen has also just opened a restaurant in Malibu. Its name? "The Malibu. It's fun. I like the play on words."

Karen and her partner, Bev, a film editor, are hosting Steve, action star of Pain Merchant 3 and Hell Hath No Fury. ("It's very character-driven," he notes of the latter epic.) Steve tries hard to match Karen's charitable impulses, saying, "I do that AIDS run, like, every other year." Accompanying him is his blonde, nubile wife, Missy. So what if she is half his age? "Seventy-five percent of what I say, she totally gets," he proudly claims.

More than half of The Money Shot consists of this bunch simply making conversation, but LaBute nails them so mercilessly that the play coasts for some time solely on its malicious wit. What conflict there is at first involves Bev, who doesn't suffer fools gladly, contradicting Steve, a self-appointed authority on everything. When Bev informs him that the film industry was born in Paris, not Hollywood, he turns frantically to his smartphone, only to discover his error. Nevertheless, he says, he loves LA because, unlike Boston or New York, it is steeped in history. "It goes back literally dozens of years," adds Bev. Meanwhile, canapes are served, and Missy is allowed one shrimp in phyllo pastry. "We're watching Missy's weight," explains Steve as his wife stares longingly at the serving plate.

Then the true reason for this get-together is revealed. Karen and Steve are starring in a thriller -- Jack Hammer, with Steve in the title role -- and their director has decided that they should take part in a real sexual encounter on film. (The director, by the way, is Belgian, which leads to another blind alley of bickering as Steve insists that Belgium isn't really part of Europe. Turning to his smartphone once again, he triumphantly announces that it isn't part of Europe; it's part of the EU.)

Missy is surprisingly okay with this plan, but Bev is aghast. Trying to forge a compromise, Missy suggests that they make a list of allowed and disallowed sexual acts to which they can all agree. The incredibly graphic conversation that follows does nothing for either relationship, as civility breaks down with alarming ease. As the argument turns physical and the betrayals mount, it looks like Bev and Karen might have to postpone their baby plans and Steve and Missy might need more than two nights a week of couples counseling.

In truth, The Money Shot is something of a fish-in-a-barrel shooting expedition, but, under the sure guidance of director Terry Kinney, the cast guarantees that LaBute's dark wit retains its glitter all night long. As Steve, Fred Weller is a preening peacock whose apparent self-assurance is the thinnest veneer over an abyss of fear. When it is alleged that he is 50, he flies into a rage, insisting that he is not a day over 48. And when a few wrinkles are noticed, he practically shouts, "I use a 70 sunblock inside the house!" Similarly, Elizabeth Reaser's Karen is possessed of a smirking self-esteem that cracks the moment she is challenged. Appalled at her guest's behavior, she screams, "No more drama!" and hurls a script to the ground. Gia Crovatin makes a real impression as Missy, whether she is surreptitiously dumping a plateful of shrimp into her bag, or -- in one of LaBute's wildest inventions -- re-enacting her interpretive dance of satanic possession from her high school production of The Crucible. (Her performance is deeply influenced by her past career as a cheerleader.) As Bev, Callie Thorne hurls her zingers with gusto, then takes part in a fierce wrestling match with Weller (amusingly choreographed by Peter Pucci). Watching Bev set up this little set-to, Karen cries out in dismay, "You're using my Pilates for Unwed Mothers mats!"

The Money Shot also benefits from a slick production design. Derek McLane's set, depicting the terrace of Karen and Bev's home, comes complete with a stunning view of the LA skyline, seen in a purple haze. Sarah J. Holden's costumes nail each character, especially Missy's pink outfit, which looks like it was designed for Beverly Hills Barbie. David Weiner's lighting and Rob Milburn and Michael Bodeen's sound, the latter of which mixes highway traffic noises with several well-chosen musical selections, are both solid.

Is it mean? Sure. One-dimensional? Yep. Totally unfair? You bet. But satirists don't need charity. LaBute here is at his most scathing -- but for once he lets the audience have a good time, too. As a playwright, his skills have always been for tricky plotting and a strong point of view, not carefully drawn characters. In The Money Shot, he makes the most of his strengths and minimizes his weaknesses. In doing so, he has created a Tinseltown satire that can stand with the best of them.--David Barbour


(30 September 2014)

E-mail this story to a friendE-mail this story to a friend

LSA Goes Digital - Check It Out!

  Follow us on Twitter  Follow us on Facebook

LSA PLASA Focus