"Hollywood 'State' of Mind"
by Scott Mantz

"State and Main"
Alec Baldwin,
William H. Macy, Sarah Jessica Parker
Directed by David Mamet

Sarah Jessica Parker and Alec Baldwin leave one shark infested pool for another in "State and Main"

You can take the filmmaker out of Hollywood, but you can't take Hollywood out of the filmmaker. No matter where a movie is being shot--whether it's in LA, New York, or even New Hampshire--there are still plenty of raging egos, snippy personalities, and self-absorbed stars to make even the most remote film shoot seem like an ordeal. In David Mamet's "State and Main," a major Hollywood production company invades a small New England town, and the result is a sharp, funny, and surprisingly delightful story that captures show business in all its cel-phoned, dysfunctional, and "luv ya, babe" glory.

The Norman Rockwell-esque town of Waterford, Vermont used to be a nice place to live until Hollywood came to town to make a movie called "The Old Mill." The problem is, the town's real old mill burned down decades ago (just great). To pour salt on the wound, the film's writer (Philip Seymour Hoffman) is needed to make changes to the script, but he needs his favorite typewriter to do it (oh, please!). Complications ensue even further when the film's self-absorbed star (Alec Baldwin) can't keep his hands off underage girls (how typical), and the film's starlet (Sarah Jessica Parker) refuses to do a nude scene that she was already paid for (again, how typical). On top of everything, when the local townsfolk want a piece of the action, these fish-out-of-water filmmakers realize that they left one shark-infested pool for another. Forget about "lights, camera, action." This is more like "lights, camera, in-action!"

It was only a matter of time before writer/director David Mamet ("Glengarry Glen Ross," "The Spanish Prisoner") honed his acerbic, witty, and sometimes brutal radar in on Hollywood. Maybe he has a thing for biting the hand that feeds him, because "State and Main" is surprisingly charming and features many likable characters. Rather than fill the movie with more inside jokes than "The Player" and "Swimming With Sharks" combined, Mamet keeps the material light on its feet so it won't go over the heads of the mainstream audience. Sure, there are plenty of digs at "the biz," especially at the expense of so-called "associate producers" (a film credit that pretty much means nothing), but even they aren't too inside.

As always, Mamet delivers plenty of sharp and biting one-liners, but the film manages to hit the nail on the head with two well-timed gags. Rebecca Pidgeon (who plays the local bookseller) makes an incredibly right-on comment about the flaws in the country's electoral college system (surprising, since the movie must have wrapped production long before the recent "In-decision 2000" debacle), and the star of the movie within the movie (Alec Baldwin in a deliciously slimey role--art imitating life perhaps?) manages to avoid jail time just based on his public appeal. Again, in light of recent events with Robert Downey Jr, this is an incredible coincidence.

There's not doubt that the cast members of "State and Main" are having a good time. As the film's paranoid director, William H. Macy will do anything to get his film made, even if it means keeping a crew member from tending to his pregnant wife to do it (Jeez, it's just a movie!). The always wonderful Sarah Jessica Parker, who is finally getting her due with HBO's excellent "Sex and the City," plays the ditsy (but in a good way) actress who refuses to take it all off, even though the moviegoing public can draw her body from memory. David Paymer finally gets a break from playing nerdy roles and nails the part of the intimidating producer to a tee.

Solidifying himself as one of the finest (and busiest) actors working today, Philip Seymour Hoffman brings a welcome depth to his role as the film's screenwriter. He's neurotic, insecure, and picky as hell, but he shows a touching and sensitive side when he falls for Rebecca Pidgeon, who lends him a hand in writing his script. Rounding out the fine cast are Charles Durning as the town's kind-hearted mayor, Patti LuPone as his domineering wife, and Julia Stiles as the jail bait who catches Baldwin's eye.

With all the craziness that takes place on a movie set, it's a miracle that they even get made at all. Obviously, none of this must have happened on the set of "State and Main," because despite some digs at the movie business, the film keeps it's characters real with a quirky home-grown feel that makes it immensely appealing. Finally, a film that says "hooray for Hollywood" and means it--well, almost.

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