Light comedy that touches all the bases

Rating: 9/10 (2 February 2016)

Interesting combo of send-up and genuine entertainment. For example, there are two production numbers that are exaggerated, but not in a way that diminishes the original genres that they were derived from. Instead they are updated, and watchable.
It's not a weighty movie -- just a lightweight look at a bygone era, and the things that happen when movies are being made, with familiar faces (although I challenge you to spot Frances McDormand) and funny jokes. I don't know what anyone else is saying about Channing Tatum, but I really liked his performance. And this guy Alden Ehrenreich -- whoa! He is just great. He has a gift for comedy and movie star good looks, and his character is *earnest* -- and likable. He is fun to watch. The secretary to Eddie Mannix, the studio head (presumably named after notorious MGM fixer Eddie Mannix) is a prominent character and she is compelling - she steals every scene, I think: Heather Goldenhersh! Today she'd be a producer, and I think the movie makers are making a poignant statement with her character.
Lots of cameos: "Newman" from "Seinfeld,: David Krumholtz, Alison Pill from "Newsroom," the stand-up comic from "Mad Men" -- really fun seeing so many familiar faces in unfamiliar roles.
I saw it in preview at Cinemark Egyptian in Hanover Maryland. I can't wait till it opens so I can see it again.