**_A film crew descends upon a New England town…_** …with William H. Macy playing the director, Philip Seymour Hoffman the troubled writer and David Paymer the no-nonsense producer. Written & directed by David Mamet, it’s a dialogue-driven quirky comedy/drama that pokes fun at the film business. The dialogue is fairly rat-a-tat-tat and so you’ll probably miss a lot of good lines, but this gives the flick great rewatch value. I loved the one about the director’s favorite pillow, which says “Shoot first and ask questions afterwards.” Yet there are dozens of amusing bits, such as the running joke about giving someone an assistant producer credit and the pothole on main street. The only thing I didn’t care for was the preoccupation in the second half with a car accident involving Alec Baldwin’s character and his scandalous involvement with a minor (Julia Stiles). Speaking of Stiles, she was 18 during shooting and it’s too bad more wasn’t done with her. Meanwhile Sarah Jessica Parker rarely looked better, yet it’s brunette Rebecca Pidgeon who has the most formidable role of the female cast. It runs 1 hour, 45 minutes, and was shot in Manchester-by-the-Sea and Beverly, which are located northeast of Boston, as well as Dedham and Waltham, which are southwest and west of the city respectively. GRADE: B
