The Hollywood Sign Movie Review

Tom Berenger, Burt Reynolds, and Rod Steiger play washed-up actors who find the opportunity to get back in the biz... if they can rip off some Vegas goons by convincing them they're cops.

No, it isn't high art. It isn't even Lethal Weapon, but the triple-threat of ham-fisted actors makes The Hollywood Sign something of a guilty pleasure.

The film's biggest problem is its circuitous and unlikely script, which has a struggling writer (Jacqueline Kim) deciding to live out the fictional heist story she wrote -- which thus becomes the driver for the movie's plot. It's just not compelling, featuring one of the most asinine thievery methods ever put to paper -- after working her way up the ladder, a woman will stuff a phony pregancy belly with money from the casino's cash room. Yawn.

More interesting is the interplay among the three leads as they train to impersonate cops and get access to the money. These guys either are or once were (Rod, rest in peace) great actors, and they prove that even with direct-to-DVD material, they can still chew scenery like it's beef jerky.

Still, it's unfortunately not enough to keep the rest of the film afloat, especially the insidery industry stuff, which comes off as silly at best.