Film Comment
"Robert De Niro gives his most natural, non-self-parodying performance in a decade as the Linson figure Ben, striking a fine balance of cosmopolitan bemusement, low-intensity terror, and almost-controlled, repeatedly displaced jealousy." 09/01/2008 p.69Total Film
3 stars out of 5 -- "Its universe is a cracked mirror of Hollywood....Robert De Niro is ideally suited to playing his harassed alter-ego Ben..." 11/01/2008 p.56 Entertainment Weekly
"[The film] has dryly obscene, laugh-out-loud lines, and its portrait of Hollywood as a giant anxiety attack is fused by De Niro, who musters a desperate, nagging warmth beneath his grumbly facade." -- Grade: B 10/24/2008 p.53 USA Today
"The performances are good (some scarily realistic), and the movie is enjoyable....W. is absorbing and amusing to ruminate over." 10/17/2008 Sight and Sound
"De Niro's effortless, engaging performance -- striding around trying to please everyone...ensures that Levinson's film is a more affectionate kick in Tinseltown's ribs." 11/01/2008 p.77 Rolling Stone
"Willis is a hoot as a nightmare version of himself. There are funny scenes, nicely directed by Barry Levinson." 11/30/2008 p.136 Premiere
"If you're into the behind-the-scenes working of Hollywood, then you'll enjoy it; It's really keyed into the insecurity and tenuous nature of showbiz; De Niro is solid as usual..." 02/23/2009 Entertainment Weekly
"[De Niro] shines as a frazzled producer who two exes and a pair of celluloid nightmares....The message is: Everyone in Hollywood lies...mostly to themselves." 02/27/2009 ReelViews 7 of 10
Barry Levinson's Wag the Dog was as pointed, funny, and intelligent a political satire as there has been in the last 15 years. Now, with Robert De Niro once again on board, Levinson has turned his camera toward his own backyard. What Just Happened?, based on the nonfiction memoirs of producer Art Linson, is a satirical jab to Hollywood's solar plexus that proves the argument that sometimes the most absurd things in life are the true ones. While this movie is fiction, there's so much fact in it that it's more real than many of today's so-called "documentaries." The problem is that the movie plays like one long in-joke. Who really cares about all this stuff? Hollywood types. They'll gobble this up while the rest of us yawn. If someone made a movie about your place of work, you'd probably be engrossed but anyone without a close association would likely be unimpressed. So it is with What Just Happened? This isn't a bad movie; it simply makes the mistake of believing that it has a wider appeal than is actually the case...Since I'm a film critic, it may be that the behind-the-scenes machinations of Hollywood are of more interest to me than they may be to the average viewer. Even taking that into account, I was no more than variably diverted by What Just Happened? Despite being satirical in nature, the movie is rarely funny. In fact, there's something a little sad about seeing how seriously Hollywood types take themselves. If The Player set the bar high for this sub-genre, Levinson's attempt, which too often falls prey to self-indulgence and tedium, comes up significantly short. Those who work in the movie industry or live in Los Angeles may be close enough to this material for it to have resonance, but the rest of the world is more likely to be bored than entertained. - James Berardinelli
Chicago Sun-Times 6 of 10
Julia Phillips' famous autobiography was titled, You' ll Never Eat Lunch in This Town Again. Barry Levinson and Art Linson will. At this point, if you're going to make a film about Hollywood greed, hypocrisy and lust, you have to be willing to burn your bridges. There's not a whole lot in "What Just Happened?" that would be out of place in a good "SNL" skit...Linson is an A-list producer ("Fight Club," "Into the Wild") who wrote this screenplay based on his memoir, subtitled Bitter Hollywood Tales From the Front Line. He knows where the bodies are buried and who buried them, but he doesn't dig anybody up or turn anybody in. If you want to see a movie that Rips the Lid Off Tinseltown, just go ahead and watch Robert Altman's "The Player" (1992). Altman took no hostages. He didn't give a damn. And the book and screenplay he started with were by Michael Tolkin, who was closer to the front line and a lot more bitter. He didn't give a damn, either...This isn't a Hollywood satire, it's a sitcom. The flywheels of the plot machine keep it churning around, but it chugs off onto the back lot and doesn't hit anybody in management. Only Penn and Willis are really funny, poking fun not at themselves but at stars they no doubt hate to work with. Wincott is great as the Brit director who wants to end with the dead dog; one wonders if Linson was inspired by Lee Tamahori, the fiery New Zealand-born director of "The Edge," who stepped on the astonishing implications of Mamet's brilliant last scene by fading to black and immediately popping up a big credit for Bart the Bear. - Roger Ebert
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