Hurlyburly

REVIEW
David Rabe's 1984 play about drug-addled and emotionally unstable Hollywood almost-players has become something else onscreen. Could be that the cocaine-crazed scene has become passe, or that characters this desperate aren't funny anymore, just pathetic. Too bad, because the performances are all fiery (possibly too fiery for the screen). Spacey comes off best as Mickey, a role he played onstage under Mike Nichols' direction, but there are also surprisingly strong (dramatic) turns by Shandling and a not-as-cute-as-usual Ryan.