'Hollywood' Episode 4 Review: With Eleanor Roosevelt rooting for Camille, what will Avis Amberg do?
Spoilers for 'Hollywood' Episode 4
Ryan Murphy's reimagination of 1940s 'Hollywood' sees Eleanor Roosevelt (Harriet Sansom Harris) walk up to the fictional ACE Studios where the bosses are in a dilemma over there to cast a black actress as the lead in their upcoming movie or not. Eleanor believes it is time for difference — to offer hope and validation and all of those magical feelings one feels upon seeing someone like their own selves on the screen — this time, to a little black girl who aches for that feeling of being represented in mainstream media.
But given their camaraderie, with the studio's acting head Avis Amberg (Patti Lupone) greenlight the decision? She couldn't care less for the perfectly fine available alternative, her own daughter Clair Woods. But will she allow Camille's (Laura Harrier) dreams to come true, or will she clip the worthy contender's wings?
Right at the beginning of the episode, we see ACE Studios boss Ace Amberg discussing upcoming films with Dick (Joe Mantello) and Ellen Kincaid (Holland Taylor). He finally agrees to greenlight 'Peg' but pretty much blows up a storm when he finds out that the screenwriter is a person of color. More than emotions or giving anybody a fair chance, Ace is concerned about making money and he makes it very sure that his intentions are heard loud and clear by his colleagues who think that giving the African-American writer a chance is only fair. So he does what capitalists do best and storms out to indulge in extramarital pleasures all the way in Palm Springs.
Dick puts down Archie Coleman (Jeremy Pope) as politely and compassionately as he can, with deep regret resounding in his voice, and a heartbroken Archie decides to avenge his name being replaced by a white man's, by ensuring the same doesn't happen with the lead actress which Camille is so worthy of.
On the day of the audition, despite Claire fitting the exact cutout that movie director Raymond Ainsley (Darren Criss) wanted, Camille takes the cake.
On the other hand, Rock Hudson (Jake Picking), despite his earnest attempts to make a name for him by bagging the role, fails in comparison to the not so better, but still doable Jack Castello (David Corenswet).
Meanwhile, Ace, while having sex with Jeanne Crandall (Mira Sorvino), has a heart attack and needs to be hospitalized. In his absence, Dick has to run to the studio and gets to do pretty much everything except greenlight a movie, as that power still resides with Avis. So when the time comes for Avis to take a call for the lead cast of 'Peg', even with Rock's agent blackmailing her with photos of her leaving Ernie's "Dreamland", Avis is wooed by Jack's charm. As for the female lead, she doesn't even take second before going with Claire, even though agreeing that Camille was the better performer.
Avis tries to defend her decision with the same reasons that Dick gave: She doesn't want every theater in the South to ban them or for the studio to go into a loss and eventual bankruptcy in the boss' absence. And in all fo this, her fears are pretty valid if one thinks of the risk they are aching. But Murphy's imagination is idealistic and just if nothing else, so he introduces some much needed Eleanor Roosevelt conviction, which makes the First Lady travel all the way to the studios to hop in on the decision about casting an African-American as the lead.
While this shines a ray of hope for Archie getting reinstated as the writer, Eleanor's words — laden with drive and wokeness — also seem to have an impact on Avis, something that the '40s would have never actually seen happening in real life. But it does on the Netflix show, and we all know the streaming network is a pioneer for progressive ideals if nothing. So in all likelihood, Avis might be casting Camille — something only the next episode will answer.
'Hollywood' premiered with all seven episodes on May 1, Friday, only on Netflix.