"What Just Happened?" shows De Niro still has the stuff

Just when we were about to write off Robert De Niro for taking the money and running in too many bad movies, along comes a role that shows he still has the stuff.

As a down-on-his luck Hollywood producer for whom everything goes wrong, he delivers his most restrained and disciplined performance in years. Here is proof, just in time, that he doesn't have to overact in every role.

The movie is a sharp comedy called "What Just Happened?" - and while it has a number of "in" Hollywood references, it can be seen as the plight of any middle-aged, once-successful man who has been overtaken by bad luck.

Ben, the character De Niro plays, is producing an arty movie that stars Sean Penn and ends with the death of a dog. The audience, understandably, rebels. "They killed the dog," they mutter in shock. (No one seems to be too concerned that Penn is also killed in the scene).

The tough-as-nails studio boss, played by Catherine Keener in a refreshing respite from her always-sunny roles, demands that the movie be "fixed." This sends the poor producer to deal with its drug-addled director (Michael Wincott, in one of the film's most impressive supporting performances).

Ben's personal life is not better. He has two ex-wives who have taken most of his money. One of them, played by Robin Wright Penn, still holds his interest. His agent, John Turturro, is a conniving opportunist.

His next movie, in the planning stages, will star Bruce Willis, who plays himself as an egotistical maniac who refuses to shave his beard. (This subplot goes on for much too long, however.) The investors don't want to put up the money unless they can see that Bruce Willis looks like Bruce Willis.

The mischievous Barry Levinson is the real director of the real movie - as distinguished from the movie within the movie.

It all ends at Cannes, where the movie starring Sean Penn will be unveiled and, if they know what's good for them, the dog will live.

For film buffs, this is great fun.

For everyone else, it's just fun.

Mal Vincent, (757) 446-2347, mal.vincent@pilotonline.com