Just Write

March. 01,1997      PG-13
Rating:
6.1
Subscription
Rent / Buy
Subscription
Trailer Synopsis Cast

A Hollywood tour bus driver poses as a screenwriter to romance an up-and-coming young actress.

Jeremy Piven as  Harold McMurphy
Sherilyn Fenn as  Amanda Clark
JoBeth Williams as  Sidney Stone
Wallace Shawn as  Arthur Blake
Alex Rocco as  Harold's Father
Jeffrey D. Sams as  Sammy
Costas Mandylor as  Rich Adams
Yeardley Smith as  Lulu
Holland Taylor as  Emma Jeffreys
Anita Barone as  Carrie

Similar titles

Moulin Rouge!
Prime Video
Moulin Rouge!
A celebration of love and creative inspiration takes place in the infamous, gaudy and glamorous Parisian nightclub, at the cusp of the 20th century. A young poet, who is plunged into the heady world of Moulin Rouge, begins a passionate affair with the club's most notorious and beautiful star.
Moulin Rouge! 2001
Singin' in the Rain
Max
Singin' in the Rain
In 1927 Hollywood, a silent film production company and cast make a difficult transition to sound.
Singin' in the Rain 1952
Johnny 316
Johnny 316
A preacher without resources spends his days reciting Bible verses. One day he meets a young jobless girl who wanders on Hollywood Boulevard. An impossible love story begins.
Johnny 316 1998
Arsenic and Old Lace
Arsenic and Old Lace
Mortimer Brewster, a newspaper drama critic, playwright, and author known for his diatribes against marriage, suddenly falls in love and gets married; but when he makes a quick trip home to tell his two maiden aunts, he finds out his aunts' hobby - killing lonely old men and burying them in the cellar!
Arsenic and Old Lace 1944
Breakfast at Tiffany's
Prime Video
Breakfast at Tiffany's
Holly Golightly is an eccentric New York City playgirl determined to marry a Brazilian millionaire. But when young writer Paul Varjak moves into her apartment building, her past threatens to get in their way.
Breakfast at Tiffany's 1961
Not Another Happy Ending
Prime Video
Not Another Happy Ending
When a struggling publisher discovers his only successful author is blocked, he knows he has to unblock her or he's finished. With her newfound success, she's become too happy and she can't write when she's happy. The only trouble is, the worse he makes her feel, the more he realizes he's in love with her.
Not Another Happy Ending 2013
Match Point
Paramount+
Match Point
Chris, a former tennis player, looks for work as an instructor. He meets Tom Hewett, a wealthy young man whose sister Chloe falls in love with Chris. But Chris has his eye on Tom's fiancee Nola.
Match Point 2005
Get Shorty
Prime Video
Get Shorty
Chili Palmer is a Miami mobster who gets sent by his boss, the psychopathic "Bones" Barboni, to collect a bad debt from Harry Zimm, a Hollywood producer who specializes in cheesy horror films. When Chili meets Harry's leading lady, the romantic sparks fly. After pitching his own life story as a movie idea, Chili learns that being a mobster and being a Hollywood producer really aren't all that different.
Get Shorty 1995
A Life Less Ordinary
Max
A Life Less Ordinary
A couple of angels, O'Reilly and Jackson, are sent to Earth to make sure that their next supervised love-connection succeeds. They follow Celine, a spoiled rich girl who has just accidentally shot a suitor and, due to a misunderstanding, is kidnapped by janitor Robert. Although Celine quickly frees herself, she stays with Robert for thrills. O'Reilly and Jackson pursue, hoping to unite the prospective lovers.
A Life Less Ordinary 1997
Separate Tables
Max
Separate Tables
Boarders at an English resort struggle with emotional problems.
Separate Tables 1958

Reviews

Hellen
1997/03/01

I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much

... more
Smartorhypo
1997/03/02

Highly Overrated But Still Good

... more
BelSports
1997/03/03

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

... more
Nicole
1997/03/04

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

... more
studioAT
1997/03/05

Jeremy Piven is best known these days for his role in 'Mr Selfridge', so it does seem odd to see him in this light weight romantic comedy from way back in 1997.It's not great to be honest. The premise is good, the lead actors do their best, but the bit of magic you need to make a romantic comedy stand out from the crowd is missing. There are lovely moments, but they are just too far and few between for this film to raise itself up from being average.It's a shame because this film had potential, but for some reason it doesn't really take off.

... more
BobbyT24
1997/03/06

Think "Notting Hill" for Americans, without the accents or Hugh Grant's mugging on a much smaller budget. I LOVE "Notting Hill" too, but this movie has its own special merits. It's been over a decade since I had first watched this wonderful specimen of an indie movie. I loved it the first time I saw it. Loved Jeremy Piven. Loved Sherilyn Fenn. Loved the story idea... The memory made me seek out and find it on DVD. I just watched it again and can say it hasn't changed in my opinion. It is adorable.First: For those of you aspiring screenwriters, this is NOT how real Hollywood works. It just doesn't. This is a fantasy. If it was reality, all prospective writers would be hanging out at the trendy bars waiting for hot stars to walk in and magically make all your dreams come true. Not. Gonna. Happen. That's my spoiler alert. :-) As for the story...Jeremy Piven plays Harold, a Hollywood tour bus driver who is looooong on movie history, celebrity trivia, and charming banter. He is your perfect "everyman" you WANT to be your buddy and loyal wingman. He's also the guy who can't seem to find the perfect girl due to his undying romantic idea that "I love you" means for a lifetime, not just to get a woman into bed. Harold visits a buddy at a bar and, on a bet, starts an unlikely conversation with a rising young starlet (Sherilyn Fenn) who mistakes him for a successful screenwriter. Standard "fish-out-of-water" stuff ensues...The write-by-numbers formula for this movie has been done before. It's hard not to see things coming. Nothing earth-shatteringly original. It's HOW we get there that is the true charm of this movie. As an aspiring screenwriter myself, I could see every hook and turn in the story before it happened. It's also why everything seemed to work so beautifully to me. I too adore old (and new) movies like our hero. I identified with him. The two leads were charming and showed real emotions throughout. I have to believe they became good friends after the shoot was completed. And with the possible exception of Elizabeth Taylor, I've never seen more incredible velvet eyes as Sherilyn Fenn's. To see her show emotion in closeups... It's screen magic.This is the role that exemplifies Jeremy Piven as an actor. He was perfect. Nobody else could have pulled off the down-on-your-luck, awesome, wingman-waiting-to-lead like he can. Why he's not a bigger star in Hollywood I'll never know. He's just that good to me. And if anyone can show me a better everyman-speed-riff conversational comedian with impeccable timing and charm, please let me know. I've never seen that kind of intelligent rambling while still keeping a smile on his face.In all honesty, I've had a mad crush on Sherilyn Fenn since "Just One of the Guys" so anything she's in is gonna make me melt. This role, however, puts her exactly where she should be -- at the top of Hollywood glamour and beauty. She IS the movie star. As much as Julia Roberts was the supposed "beauty" in "Notting Hill", Sherilyn didn't even need to try to be stunning. She simply... IS stunning. If her personality in real life is anything like the character, I'd be right there with Jeremy thinking she's the one --- even if she's SLIGHTLY out of my class. :-) The rest of the cast is admirable. I'm not a fan of JoBeth Williams and I thought her Sidney Stone agent character was WAAAAY over-the-top. But others on this Board thought she was great so who am I to argue? Alex Rocco (died only a few weeks ago in real life sadly) plays the overbearing, unsuccessful father. His is kind of the thankless job of pushing his son onto bigger-and-better but never really wanting to cut the apron strings from the family business and the home. The rest of the cast is fairly standard - except for an all-too-brief cameo by Wallace Shawn that, even though unrealistic, made me smile and let me know how much I ADORE the man as an actor. He does the blow-hard "BIG, little man" character better than anyone.SPOILER ALERT FOR SCREENWRITERS: If you have the DVD (and I'm recommending you BUY THE DVD!!!!), let me say the chapter entitled "Just Write" NEEDS NEEDS NEEDS to be on the top of your inspirational scenes to pump you up to write!! No kidding. It's that powerful. Once you watch the montage set to the inspiring song, "Change" by Life In General, you will want to watch it over and over and over. It TRULY is a must watch for a screenwriter. If you can't be inspired to start writing after seeing our untrained, in-over-his-head hero go through his range of emotions while trying to tackle a professional screenplay while set to the PERFECT song to show anguish and hope, you should think of choosing a different vocation.One note on the cinematography: I can say Hollywood has never looked so lovely. It's unrealistic how traffic-free the streets are, but the director of photography captured the sets with breathtaking lighting. I know Los Angeles isn't 72-degrees and sunny 24/7/365, but they sure took advantage of the best days for this little movie. Even though this indie will pale in comparison to high-priced, heavyweight romantic/comedies of it's era like "Notting Hill", I will forever have a soft spot for this little gem. The charm, innocence, and "little man does good" feel-good movie is special. If you are looking for Julia Roberts, Meryl Streep, Brad Pitt or any other number of "superstars", you will be disappointed by the no-name cast. However, if you want a sweet, surrealistic, feel-good journey into Hollywood's caste system, please do yourself a favor and watch this movie. It will put a smile on your face. :-)

... more
kenandraf
1997/03/07

Average love comedy with good performances from the participating actors.The film could have been better with more quality directing,screenplay and cinematography.The simple manner this fairy tale was told gave the movie credibility and worth watching to the end as long as a love comedy is expected.Fenn fans will like this for sure.....

... more
delta_astro
1997/03/08

I'm a great fan of rags to riches stories. Having lived the riches to rags to riches life personally, the idea is quite appealing to me! What I found so interesting about Jeremy Piven's character was that he was so enamored with Sherilyn Fenn's character; that he saw through the obvious. He wasn't looking at the superficial. Yes, she was pretty and very rich, but that wasn't his motivation. He was truly motivated by, gasp, LOVE! His countenance and his boyish body language when he would be around her was so wonderful to watch. And how a bond and a friendship developed between the two characters was simply delicious. Sherilyn Fenn's character, I thought, was implausible knowing today's standards. However, I loved the thought of knowing that a beautiful, young, rich, single and famous actress could have such a deep longing for true love and faithfulness - where do you find that nowadays?It's in this story!The movie was so passionate and poignant, the characters so innocently appealing, and the supporting cast was simply tremendous. I can't say enough good things about this film. Who cares if its an independent. Who cares if its low budget. A good romance doesn't need the big hollywood hype or the big production; it simply needs two characters that truly and deeply love each other and are willing to look beyond the superficial attitudes that most of us have grown accustomed to!

... more