David Weiss

I was so entranced, I never binge-watch but I couldn't stop watching this show. One funny bonus for me - I love Musso and Frank (the Hollywood steak house) and it was in about 12 scenes in this movie. So don't get me wrong, there's nothing I would have rather done with those several hours than watch these 8 episodes. I have to object just a little, though, to the incredible pureness and happy ending. Incredible pureness in that Jack never actually felt coerced into sleeping with our fooling around with any men, it just doesn't make sense given his dire straits. It would have provided more realistic tension. And Rock Hudson never did more than touch Henry Willson? Are you kidding me? While we're on the subject of Hudson, the movie's Hudson lived a completely different life than than the real one. It seems hard to accept that the 1940's Hudson, openly holding hands with his black boyfriend, would ever get a job in Hollywood again. The totally happily ever after for everyone (even the two studio execs who died left the world fulfilled) was a bit much to take. In real life, you rack up some wins but still have more work to do. Still true in 2024, so why wasn't that the case in 1949?

It must have worked because I HATE Claire. Maybe I could look at her in the first couple of episodes, but after that, I didn’t even want to see her on the screen. Eric, on the other hand, is totally believable and likable. It would have been nice to see more of what got to him about the affair. We hear him lay it out bare for Claire at the very end, but maybe some time on the therapist’s couch, or confessing feelings to a friend during the last three episodes, as he started to feel adrift, would have been helpful. But yeah, they did a great job of portraying a selfish, narcissistic, nymphomaniacal sociopath in Claire, one who will stomp on anyone’s life because she can’t take responsibility for her own.