The Plain Dealer, March 19, 2000, by Mark Dawidziak (Plain 
Dealer television and radio critic)
E's Movie Skewers Hollywood.
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Satire seems to be the weapon of choice for cable channels 
jumping into the TV movie business. Last month, MTV's first 
original film, "2Gether," won strong ratings and reviews 
with its slick spoofing of the boy-band phenomenon. 

MTV was so impressed with these results, it announced four 
days ago that "2Gether," would become a regularly scheduled 
series this summer. No question, the takeoff took off. 

Now here comes E! with its first TV movie, "Best Actress," 
which will premiere at 9 tonight. A savage satire of 
Hollywood in general and award shows in particular, this 
cagey cable film blasts away at Tinseltown in the mirthful 
manner in which "2Gether," took apart the music industry. 

If anything, "Best Actress" hits harder and plays rougher 
than its MTV predecessor. This is E! after all, the cable 
home of Howard Stern and those gloriously gossipy "True 
Hollywood Story" documentaries. E! stands for entertainment, 
not for easily offended. 

An edgy black comedy with more than a few razor-sharp edges, 
"Best Actress" finds one worthy target after another for its 
deadly daggers. Never content with thrusting home a cynical 
point, the cable movie is constantly twisting the knife to 
draw as much blood as possible. 

That's not to say every cutting or caustic comment is 
delivered with surgical precision. There are stretches in 
"Best Actress" when the Tinseltown taunting slides from 
lampoonish to cartoonish. At moments the characters are so 
broadly drawn and the dialogue so outlandish, you question 
the pedigree of parody. 

But more than enough goes raucously right for "Best Actress" 
to rate as delicious fun, especially for anyone who has ever 
sneered at an overbearing, overdressed star spouting 
overblown nonsense at an awards ceremony. 

Coverups 

Based on a behind-the-scenes novel by John Kane, the crafty 
and clever cable movie stars Thomas Calabro "(Melrose 
Place)" as Ted Gavin, a Hollywood journalist handed the 
assignment of interviewing the five best actress Oscar 
nominees. Each is coping with problems that could earn her a 
bucket of bad publicity. Take your pick: sex, drugs, 
blackmail, kleptomania, alcoholism. 

Prim British star Fiona Covington (Rachel Hunter), for 
instance, has been rocked by the news that her husband, 
actor-director Colin Tromans (Anthony Stewart Head), is 
leaving her. To make matters worse, he's having an affair 
with another of the nominees, former soft-porn star Karen 
Kroll (Jaime Pressly), once described by a critic as Pamela 
Anderson without the talent. 

Lori Seefer (Elisa Donovan) is afraid that media attention 
will reveal her lesbian affair with Maria (Maria Conchita 
Alonso). Her agent quickly hires a young hustler to pose as 
her boyfriend, and, willing to pay any price for the Academy 
Award, Lori agrees to the sham. 

The other two nominees are young Amber Lyons (Jordan Ladd), 
the pill-popping sensation on the independent film scene, 
and aging diva Connie Travers "(Waiting to Exhale" star 
Loretta Devine), an alcoholic singer-actress who hasn't sung 
in public for 10 years. 

More than just the central character, Ted is our narrator. 
The movie opens with him sitting in a stretch limo, showing 
us a small black purse. Inside is a gun. If the owner of 
this purse loses, he tells us, she will shoot the winner. 

How does Ted know this? Stick around. It's one of the many 
surprise turns ably navigated by Emmy-winning director 
Harvey Frost. 

No, "Best Actress" isn't the best TV movie you'll see this 
season. It is, however, a strong start for the E! original 
movies division, a wicked dart aimed at the hollow heart of 
Hollywood. 

Photos: 1) From left, Jaime Pressly, Loretta Devine, Jordan 
Ladd, Thomas Calabro, Rachel Hunter and Elisa Donovan star 
in the TV movie "Best Actress," the E! Enter- tainment cable 
channel's first original movie.; 2) Melissa Rivers, left, 
and Rachel Hunter in "Best Actress." Rivers, who is host of 
an Oscar pre-show with her mother, Joan Rivers, plays 
herself in the movie. 



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