If you grew up watching films from this era, you might enjoy it...

Rating: 7/10 (6 March 2016)

The story is set in the 1950s, at a film studio where Eddie Mannix (played by Josh Brolin) is a 'fixer'...if a problem arises in the making of a movie (be it with actors or whathaveyou), he'll 'fix' it. That could include things like getting an actor out of a difficult situation off the set, or...something more dramatic, as we sell when this film unfolds. Expecting to see George Clooney in this movie, for a moment I wondered if Eddie Mannix was being played by him...all old guys look alike, maybe?
As I child, I'd remember seeing movies on the ABC (Australia) about cowboys and million dollar mermaids etc, so if you were growing up when those kinds of movies were being made and you went to the cinema to see them, you might get a lot out of the characters in this movie which play the knock-off versions of the real actors from that bygone era. For instance, I'd say that the character of DeeAnna Moran (played by Scarlett Johansson) is intended to be interpreted as being Esther Williams, who starred in "Million dollar mermaid" (about the Australian swimmer Annette Kellerman). "Million dollar mermaid" no doubt had some choreographed dance routines done in the water which were created (I would learn in a documentary many years later) by Busby Berkeley...and you get to see that recreated in this movie...or reinterpreted, as I'm no expert on this subject.
Since this movie is billed as a comedy, I have to say I did get a few laughs out of it. E.g. there's a funny scene early on in the movie where Mannix is holding a meeting with various religious leaders of different faiths and denominations about a movie his studio is making ("Hail, Caesar!") and it's funny seeing how these leaders react to the premise of the movie. Actually, there's a line in the end credits of this movie which relates to this scene.
Also making me laugh was a scene between Wraith Fiennes (as Laurence Laurentz) and Alden Ehrenreich (as Hobie Doyle). Presumably Hobie is meant to be Gene Autrey (I'm not sure because I don't think that I've ever seen an Autry movie). Tongue-in-cheek, the scene is about electrocution.
By the by, speaking of knock-off characters, I'd say that Channing Tatum (as Burt Gurney) is meant to be Gene Kelly. The dance routine with Burt Gurney reminded me of a sketch on "The late show" featuring Mick Molloy...demonstrating how anachronistic such fare is in the modern world (this clip might even be on You Tube).
Since this was the era of senator Joe McCarthy, I have to say that I do find it a pity that the film's treatment of this era seems, if not fanciful, then at least insubstantial.
My initial notes for this film gave it a score of 75% but a few days after seeing it now, I'll just dimish my score a tad...if I had of put "75%" in the header of this review, my practise is to round down my scores, not up, so the net effect is the same...this film gets 7 stars from me.