The Queen Of Hollywood Blvd. (2018) Movie Review

Starring Rosemary Hochschild, the Orson Oblowitz-written/-directed crime/drama, The Queen of Hollywood Blvd., was released in L.A. theaters on October 13th. The trippy character-driven movie has been slapped as Tarantino-esque, and aside from a few chapter-like title screens throughout, a dark story, fringe characters, and gratuitous violence and nudity, it might be a bit of a stretch to put such a title on the movie. If anything, it does a disservice to the movie by building the audiences’ expectations, because, well, to say that will only lead to disappointment.

That being said, The Queen of Hollywood Blvd. is a solidly entertaining movie that keeps your interest as you desire to know what happens next. It’s not a fast-paced movie by any measure, but there’s just enough blood and nudity to push you through any waning interest. As well, Rosemary Hochschild (Supergirl, Desperately Seeking Susan) turns in an impressive performance, selling her down-on-her-luck and aging strip-joint owner/pimp as a believable and even empathetic character.

Rather than me telling you what the movie is about, here’s the trailer and synopsis:

The Queen of Hollywood Blvd. Synopsis:

On her 60th birthday, Mary (Rosemary Hochschild) finds her past coming back to haunt her, as a 25-year-old debt means the mob is ready to collect with interest, their sights set on the strip club she has run all her life. There’s only one thing she can do: Mount her defenses and stand her ground in a spiral of violence and revenge that will leave no one in her life untouched.

As you can see it’s pretty far fetched, but the context of the story calls for some interesting visuals and costume choices. Yes, it’s L.A. tacky, and broken Hollywood dream, but it looks great.

The Verdict:

It’s kitsch and cliche, but it’s fun to watch in a train-wreck kind of way (in that you can’t take your eyes off the movie because you want to know what will happen next). As mentioned, Hochschild does an incredible job, the story is solid, the dialog doesn’t seem forced, there are some great one-liners, plenty of T&A and blood, and some great visuals. Watch at your own risk; you might like it more than expected.

Rock Hard \m/