Ellie Parker review

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How's this for irony? A US indie about a struggling blonde actress trying to break Hollywood; in which the title character is played by Naomi Watts, who herself broke Hollywood by playing a struggling blonde actress in David Lynch's Mulholland Drive.

Despite being cheaply shot on DV by writer-director-actor Scott Coffey, Ellie Parker makes for an entertaining comedy about life on the fringes of Tinseltown. Watts provides a tour-de-force performance as the talented yet insecure Ellie, who's forced to change her clothes, hair and make-up while frantically driving around LA between auditions. The memorable supporting characters include Coffey's sexually confused admirer and Rebecca Riggs' anti-Method best friend, challenging Ellie to a crying-on-demand contest. The hilarious acting class sequence will put you off treading the boards for life...

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