Afouotos Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

Skyler Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

Dana An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Billy Ollie Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

moonspinner55 Barry Primus directed and co-wrote this 'Hollywood insider's comedy' which isn't very inside and is never terribly funny. Robert Wuhl is a struggling screenwriter who, with help from Martin Landau's over-the-hill movie producer, hopes to get his picture made with financial backing from three hot-tempered high rollers; the catch is, each investor wants his mistress to have a part in the film, and all three women prove very difficult to handle. Potentially interesting premise given over to foul-mouthed neurotics who are never as amusing as they're supposed to be. Wuhl, an actor of quicksilver comedic timing, thanklessly plays the incredulous observer here, while the all-star supporting cast loudly plays up the material until the satirical edge flags and becomes cartoonish. Primus' direction is wobbly and uneven, though he gets some amusing facial expressions from Robert De Niro (who also co-produced, for reasons which are unclear). Shabbily edited, and with ungainly cinematography. *1/2 from ****

Theo Robertson The info button described MISTRESS as thus " An earnest screenwriter sees his dream mangled in the Hollywood movie machine . Robert DeNiro is a crass moneyman demanding a role for his talentless mistress " Great I thought , this is going to be like THE KING OF COMEDY except it`s set in Hollyloot . Twenty minutes later DeNiro`s still not appeared and I`m aware of one thing - info buttons are never right The info button wasn`t so much wrong but it was rather misleading . DeNiro does indeed play a crass moneyman who is after a role for his mistress but she`s not exactly talentless . The plot mainly revolves around a failed director/screenwriter called Marvin who finds himself having to severly alter his script if he wants it produced , it`s a sort of satire/black comedy on the Hollyloot system of film making and once you get over the initial disappointment of it not being a Scorsese / DeNiro masterpiece it`s an enjoyable film , and one with a lot of scathing truth like a pitch is all down to presentation , casting is down to who the actress is sleeping with and a producer`s vulgarity is only matched by his ignorance . Also watch out for the line " This isn`t BATMAN 3 " which at that time hadn`t been produced yet . I guess someone made BATMAN 3 as a homage to MISTRESS ?

coffeengreens This movie is another over looked gem made awares recently to my consumerized multiplex movie taste. Robert DeNiro acted in this movie for free (according to IFC Channel's little factoid footnotes). It has a low budget feel to it. I dislike Robert "Arliss" Wuhl as an actor. Nontheless I found myself intrigued and enjoying Mistress.The discussions about art, and how they are a reflection of real life: the question posed in My Dinner With Andre: Is the art a reflection of it's artist, or is the artist a reflection of his art ? The discussion and breaking down of some of the tedious aspects of screenwriting and what it means and how one goes about it in the movie industry. The compromises required in movie-making, and art in general, is an intriguing aspect to this movie, making it more than just a run of the mill "dish on Hollywood/Los Angeles" movie. Also, the comprises woman in the movies have to make, and blacks. I think this is a great movie for an aspiring (screen)writer/actor to watch by providing some of the clues to how one has to think or approach writing and also the realistic constraints that get applied by the way the industry is structured.(BTW, I feel as if I am the only one to notice that this seems alot like Woody Allen's Bullets Over Broadway ((which was released 2 years after this movie)); Woody Allen is the greatest, but the uncredited theft of this movie may be a travesty ((especially provided the knowledge, also courteasy of IFC's footnotes, that the Writer/Director Ron Powlus[sp] spent 7 years running around trying to get this movie made. Which is a sad fact because this is an excellent movie and the amount of work he must have put into it is reflected.))Now looking at this as well, this is sort of a movie about the making of a movie about the real life making of a movie; which in itself is stating something very profound about movie making.

Robert D. Ruplenas A sadly underrated movie. Hollywood could not have loved it because of the cruelly true things it says about how movies are made, about how a writer's creative vision becomes corrupted and debauched on its way to the screen. That doesn't sound like a setup for a comedy, but a wonderfully dark comedy it is, with some richly witty dialogue. Landau's performance is superb (he is one of the best actors around), and the descent of Wuhl's character from idealistic writer to desperate self-promoter - a sad journey - is made humorous. Wonderful bits by Eli Wallach, Danny Aiello, and all three mistresses.