“Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood” (R)

Clearly made as a love letter to the La La landscape of the late 1960s, “Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood” is a surprisingly tame entry in writer-director Quentin Tarantino’s otherwise wild body of work as a filmmaker. It proves that Tarantino’s love for the end of the Golden Era in Hollywood is warm and fuzzy, but when its framed as a feature film, perhaps “Once Upon a Time” is warm and fuzzy to a fault. In short, the film lacks the Tarantino bite we associate with the inventive filmmaker until its third act, leaving in its wake several bland moments during the first hour and a half of the film.

“Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood” is largely about TV star Rick Dalton (Leonardo Di Caprio) and his longtime stuntman-turned-personal assistant Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt) as Rick begins to realize his downslide as lead actor who is now largely relegated guest shots as “the heavy” on episodic television. Of course, Rick and Cliff are fictional characters in Tarantino’s “Hollywood,” but much like writer-director did with “Inglorious Basterds,” he drops the characters in among real-life figures and settings to construct what becomes a revisionist tale set over nine months in 1969 Hollywood.

AUDIO: Hear Tim review “Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood” with Jordana Green and guest host Todd Walker on “The Paul and Jordana Show” on WCCO-AM. Segment brought to you by Mike Bryant and Bradshaw & Bryant.

Most prominent of the real-life figures portrayed are actress Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie), who cruelly met her fate while eight-months pregnant along with friend/Hollywood hairstylist Jay Sebring (Emile Hirsch) and two others at the hands of the murderous Manson family on Aug. 9, 1969. Tate’s husband, director Roman Polanski (Polish actor Rafal Zawierucha) is also featured briefly in a few fleeting scenes, while Charles Manson (Damon Herriman) only turns up once in the whole film.

A slow burn set over 2 hours and 41 minutes that eventually rolls up to the private neighborhood where members of the Manson family plan to kill Tate and Polanski, a restrained Tarantino holds off on his penchant for excessive screen violence until late into the third act. Before that, the other razzmatazz identified with the two-time Oscar-winning filmmaker is spread out in inspired bits and pieces throughout the first 90 minutes.

Among them is a charming (and in retrospect, heartbreaking) scene where Tate sits in a Hollywood theater to soak in the reaction to her work in Dean Martin’s Matt Helm adventure comedy “The Wrecking Crew”; and another where Kurt Russell’s producer character become a wreck on the set of a movie where Bruce Lee (Mike Moh) squares off against Cliff in a backlot in one of film’s funniest moments. Perhaps the biggest scene stealer is Julia Butters (TV’s “American Wife”), who plays a precocious 8-year-old actor (don’t call her “actress”), who puts Rick back on his heels as they’re preparing to film scenes for a TV Western (Butters brilliantly holds her own against DiCaprio in not one but two scenes).

To be sure, “Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood” is a nostalgic ride down memory lane for Tarantino as he expertly recreates the look and atmosphere of Tinseltown in the late 1960s, which not surprisingly has pop music hits of the era woven within. But it’s also a ride that may leave fans of his previous work feeling short-changed, especially for the lumbering first 90 minutes the film.

In short, “Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood” is the most un-Tarantino film Tarantino has ever done – at least until its final 45 minutes. The tension begins to ramp up when Cliff tries to visit his old colleague George Spahn (Bruce Dern) on the Spahn Movie Ranch, a once-viable filming location that is now suspiciously populated by a “community” of Charles  Manson followers. It’s there where the Manson Family is plotting out its final steps to murder Tate, who is 8 months pregnant, along with Polanski.

Effectively “Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood” is a 2 hour, 41 minute exercise in wish fulfillment that gives Tarantino – who has long been able to make films carte blanche in Tinseltown – the means to play around in the era of filmmaking (or in this case, TV show making) that he clearly adores.

A sort of insider’s look at the making of TV shows in the late ‘60s (and digitally swapping in Rick for Steve McQueen in “The Great Escape” ), “Once Upon a Time” even gives Tarantino the opportunity to step back in time onto sets to produce classic Westerns through the lens of such directors (turned actor) as Sam Wanamaker. He even peppers the film with several cameos, including Damian Lewis as The King of Cool Steve McQueen and Dakota Fanning in a small but unnerving turn as Manson family member Squeaky Fromme. All but squandered is Al Pacino as agent pushing Rick toward making Spaghetti Westerns; and notably absent is Samuel L. Jackson, who has been a frequent collaborator of Tarantino’s since 1994’s “Pulp Fiction.”

AUDIO: Hear Tim review “Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood” with Tom Barnard on “The KQ Morning Show” on KQRS-FM. Segment brought to you by Mike Bryant and Bradshaw & Bryant.

With DiCaprio, Pitt and Robbie turning in good but not great performances, “Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood” will be remembered as a star-powered film that was a victim of its own hype. Just like the shiny veneer the real Hollywood gives off, the film is ultimately more about looks than it is substance, and thin veil in this case almost completely hides the ugliness of the industry.

Luckily for fans, while Tarantino gets waylaid on his trip back in time, there’s no doubt a ton of satisfaction to be had when the writer-director gives his twisty take on one of the most shocking crimes Hollywood has ever seen to conclude the film. It’s one of the few tales in “Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood” that’s worth telling over and over. The rest you can close the book on.

Lammometer: 6 (out of 10)

Tim Lammers reviews movies weekly for “The KQ92 Morning Show,”  WCCO Radio, WJON-AM, KLZZ-FM, “The Tom Barnard Podcast” and “The BS Show” with Bob Sansevere. On TV, Tim has made hundreds of guest appearances on “KARE 11 News at 11” (NBC).

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