Full Frontal

Director Steven Soderbergh brings a playful spirit and a touch of genius to this oddly gentle Hollywood exposé. Full Frontal follows the lives of several people connected by varying degrees to the production of Rendez Vous, the film within the film that itself contains a film within a film. This layering and teasing of movie-industry standbys happens throughout: L.A. Law star Blair Underwood plays an actor who plays an actor who is a TV star who is making the jump to the big screen, major stars pop up as bit players playing themselves, and even the opening credits are a sly, dead-on parody of opening credits. The actors are clearly having a terrific time skewering movie insiders and, like any members of a family, are allowed to be both more affectionate and more vicious to each other than outsiders. Standouts in a uniformly marvelous ensemble cast include David Hyde Pierce as one of the screenwriters, and Nicky Katt as an actor doing a truly wretched Hitler. Full Frontal is beautifully written, beautifully performed, and brilliantly realized. --Ali Davis