Just Write
The only things worse than tired clichés are tired clichés on a shoestring budget. Shot like some sort of practical-joke parody of a romantic comedy, Just Write might have been a sweet diversion if the screenwriting and direction weren't so inept. Jeremy Piven plays a sensitive Hollywood tour-bus driver who pretends to be a successful screenwriter to woo a famous movie star played by Sherilyn Fenn. Will Piven 'fess up to Fenn? Will the two find happiness even after the truth is revealed? Will Piven learn that it's not what's outside that counts; that it's what's inside that matters most? Of course, the answer to all these questions is a big "duh," but it's laughable how little Just Write deviates from this course. Produced by a pair of Wisconsin professionals (one a practicing dentist) desperate to break into Hollywood, Just Write somehow attracted a number of name actors, including Fenn, Piven, JoBeth Williams, Jeffrey Sams, and Wallace Shawn. And, truth be told, the acting isn't as bad as the material might have encouraged. But what with the sub-Player name-dropping (agent's cellular phone rings: "Oh, hello, Mr. Spielberg…"), incessant pop-song soundtrack, and ridiculously trite situations—first-date musical montage at a carnival! sensitive screenwriter watches Sunset Boulevard!—there's just no hope.