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Taking on the Hollywood dream with th kind of guts it takes to get kicked off the lot of 20th Century Fox twice in one day, the crew of this witty look at the bottom rungs of teh American entertainment industry sets out to pinpoint a struggling actor's climb to succes. Documenting his own (and every other show biz wannabe's) worst Tinseltown rejection nightmares, Rhinoskin's subject and co-director, Tod De Pree, manages to turn humiliation into a badge of honour.
From the fringes of psychic consultations and colon hydrotherapy to the professionals who make up the backbone of the industry, the film seeks out every tried and (not so) true method of landing that crucial part. De Pree is advised, rejected, conned and hustled by a succession of stylists, physical trainers, casting directors, acting coaches, cosmetic surgeons and agents (including the manager of LA billboard goddess Angelyne!). A strange and mindboggling quest to get one line of dialogue on a network sitcom.
Time out is taken in this odyssey to the stars to visit De Pree's Midwestern hometown - where the dream began - and the Diane Arbus-type portrait of small town life we get makes the case for taking the first Greyhound coach west a much saner option.
This truly bizarre and funny study of the inhabitants, customs and rites of passage of movieland's struggling masses provides a near fatal glimpse at that all consuming cultural phenomenon at work - the Hollywood fantasy.