BWW Reviews: LaBute's Skewers L.A. Lifestyles in THE MONEY SHOT

Few things in life give arrogant, culturally elite New Yorkers more pleasure than a chance to laugh at vapid, pseudo-intellectual Los Angelinos, so I fully expect the 100 minutes of rapid-fired bursts of raucous laughter emitted from the gathering at the Lucille Lortel Theatre the evening I attended Neil LaBute's The Money Shot to be a seven-times-a-week occurrence.

LaBute, of course, is known to be a button-pusher who isn't afraid to have his characters demonstrate their more cruel and disgusting qualities, and, true to form, there are some pretty awful things said in this one regarding such topics as female athletics, adopting African children, the legitimacy of bisexuality and whether or not Belgium is in Europe. But unlike deeper fare like Fat Pig or reasons to be pretty, every racist, sexist or homophobic jab is said with such an absurd grasp of logic and outlandish conviction that the joke is how ignorant people can be of their own ignorance.

"Lotta history in this town! That's what I love about Hollywood. Not like New York or places like that," says aging movie star Steve (Fred Weller) who has become rich by going shirtless in action flicks, but hasn't had a solid hit in quite some time.

His upcoming feature, Jackhammer, co-stars Karen (Elizabeth Reaser), a more serious actress whose career has hit the skids since coming out as bisexual. Karen's attempt to brand her way back into mainstream paychecks includes lending her name to numerous charities, developing a lifestyles web site and opening a restaurant in Malibu named The Malibu. ("I like the play on words.")

The continuous action takes place in the Hollywood Hills home of Karen and her romantic partner, Bev (Callie Thorne), a former college athlete and Brown grad who works in post-production. Their dinner guests are Steve and his tall, thin, blonde 24-year-old wife, Missy (Gia Crovatin), an aspiring actress whose career highlight was a high school production of The Crucible that received a cease and desist notice because of a scene added for her and her fellow cheerleaders.

Though he hints now and then that there's a serious matter that needs to be discussed, LaBute takes his time introducing the plot while fleshing out the dynamics of the two couples. Steve controls Missy's diet by continually reminding her of the fierce competition between young beautiful actresses and Bev tries hiding her resentment of the numerous compromises she makes for the sake of the self-centered Karen's career. (In a nice touch, LaBute has Bev tell Karen, "I love you," only to have her answer back, "Me, too.")

The playwright mines the friction between the under-informed Steve and the educated Bev for abundant laughs (He insists to her that David Crosby is Bing Crosby's son.) before venturing into the meat of the matter. The director of Steve and Karen's film wants them to reshoot a bed scene, only this time they'll actually be having sex. While the artistic value of the idea is debatable, the potential for money and publicity seems limitless, so the two want to discuss with their partners if they should do it and, if they do, what would be the limitations.

Director Terry Kinney's cast is pretty damn near perfect. Weller's slow-witted Steve, clueless of his own privilege, convincingly believes himself to be an intellectual and a victim of Hollywood machinations. Thorne counters with a Bev who delights in bringing him down with her dry wit and, finally, her athletic superiority.

Reaser drips with manufactured glamour and bleeding heart self-promotion. LaBute gives her a gloriously overdramatic speech that she chews on with wild comedic abandon. ("A couple films don't open well or you're cancelled mid-season and boom! There you are, dressed in sequins and out on the dance floor, begging America 'Please don't eliminate me this week!'")

While Crovatin has a lot of dumb blonde bits to play (and she does them extremely well) she also plays her character's growing realization of her own worth with fine subtlety.

From Kaufman and Hart to Comden and Green to Jonathan Reynolds to Neil Simon, many a New York playwright has been inspired to get big laughs out of their experiences on that other coast. You might consider that The Money Shot contains some discussion-worthy observations about sexual limitations in relationship, but I'd rather just call it a good old-fashioned laugh riot.

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