What Just Happened paints a portrait of the Hollywood audiences don't witness very often. Most moviegoers see Tinseltown's finished products, but not the insanity unfolding behind the scenes. Here's a piece of work depicting the movie industry as a place where, according to Hunter S. Thompson, "thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs." It's a quote director Barry Levinson wishes to emphasize throughout What Just Happened. But though his efforts turn up the occasional nugget of wit, this film reveals nothing that many Hollywood outsiders don't already know.

Our story comprises roughly two weeks in the life of Ben (Robert De Niro), a movie producer going through a very hectic time. Once a powerful player in show biz, Ben finds his very career hinging on the fates of two projects on the verge of completely collapsing. On one front, the studio boss (Catherine Keener) orders the moody director (Michael Wincott) of a Sean Penn thriller to recut the movie after a disastrous test screening. Elsewhere, Ben has his hands full tangling with the one and only Bruce Willis, whose decision to pack on some pounds and grow a beard to make Paul Bunyan envious earns the ire of executives banking on his movie star looks. Outside of the office, Ben deals with a succession of ex-wives, the most recent of which (Robin Wright Penn) is sleeping with one of Ben's colleagues (Stanley Tucci). In the midst of all this personal and professional chaos, Ben struggles to grasp for the slightest hint of stability, attempting to keep his head above water in that most tumultuous of seas known as Hollywood.

What Just Happened isn't the first movie to center on the extremely taxing filmmaking process. Robert Altman's The Player ranks as the seminal example of this category, but the likes of David Mamet and Woody Allen have also provided their own takes on this realm. What Just Happened isn't about to revolutionize this subgenre, though it's not for a lack of effort. The film's problem involves being a little too boastful. Armed with the tagline, "In Hollywood, everybody can hear you scream," Levinson seems to promise a no-holds-barred picture designed to rattle the very foundation of the movie industry. Instead, what viewers get is a profanity-laced series of observations most people could probably guess on their own. Movie stars can be temperamental and childish? Studio bigwigs are willing to squeeze out every ounce of a film's creative juices for the sake of making a few more bucks? I knew all this before popping the film in my DVD player.

That's not to say What Just Happened has no insights to provide. On the contrary, for Levinson and screenwriter/longtime producer Art Linson do an effective job of establishing how quickly show business can make mincemeat out of your life. De Niro's Ben is often shown juggling about a dozen phone calls at the same time, torn between salvaging what's left of a relationship with his ex and making sure he still has a job at the end of the day. Levinson and crew depict such madness in a zippy enough manner, but the film's incisors aren't as sharp as it thinks they are. Too much of the story leans on stereotypes that are either overblown or downplayed to a fault, from Willis spoofing himself as a prima donna to John Turturro's turn as a squirrely agent. Though the performances aren't awful, there's hardly a full-fledged character to be seen here. A couple of exceptions emerge, specifically De Niro and, in a pitch-perfect role, Keener as the cutthroat studio boss, the one true sign of a mean streak Levinson could've benefitted from tapping into more.

Casual movie fans will probably get more out of What Just Happened than seasoned film buffs like me. I've become spoiled by other pictures taking the same concept and running even further with it, though those looking for a frantic dark comedy will not leave here disappointed. What Just Happened isn't the last we've heard from Hollywood in terms of poking fun at its own faults, but one hopes the next movie will have more skeletons to unleash from the closet.

MY RATING: ** (out of ****)

(Released by Magnolia Pictures and rated "R" for language, some violent images, sexual content and some drug material.)