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Halfway through this documentary of his rise and fall of enfant terrible filmmaker Troy Duffy, which is directed by his former colleagues Mark Brian Smith and Tony Montana, the local native says that Hollywood is like a big playground where the biggest bully gets everything. And who’s the biggest bully? Duffy thought it was him, but as it turned out he was more like Gloria Swanson in Sunset Boulevard. Moral of the story: don’t cross Harvey Weinstein. Weinstein’s Miramax Studio took Duffy, a bartender from an LA watering hole, and his first screenplay, The Boondock Saints, and gave him everything: he could direct the film, cast it, make the soundtrack with his band. Harvey even bought Duffy the bar he worked in. Duffy was a working-class hero, an overnight success, and the biggest, most foul-mouthed head case in Hollywood. In short order, he alienated Harvey, Hollywood, and his band mates. As for most viewers, they’ll be sick of him within the film’s first five minutes. Be that as it may, the long-suffering Smith and Montana have put together an abrasive and illuminating portrait of Hollywood and megalomania, kind of like Hearts of Darkness without the genius, or Some Kind of Monster without the therapy, or Spinal Tap without the laughs. (115 minutes)
BY PETER KEOUGH
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