Charlie Fink

Great idea, great period, great Hollywood setting, although at times its low budget shows through inattention to detail. Fantastic performances in supporting roles. But. The series is about Al Ruddy, the guy who produced “The Godfather” movie. Unfortunately he is the least interesting character in the entire series. The coup de grace, which really doomed this from the start, is that the series is based on Ruddy’s actual, self-serving “recollections.” In sum, he had a really hard, bi-coastal job, and he had to be friends with mobsters, agents and studio heads while juggling the needs of demanding artists who rarely saw, or acknowledged, his efforts on their behalf. As a result he neglected his hot French girlfriend, who owned the Château Mormont hotel, and she broke up with him. Parting shot: there’s no drama if you know that they’re making one of the greatest films of all time. For example, will they get the tall studio head to cast the shrimpy Pacino? Yeah, I was on the edge of my seat.