Good thing Affleck is directing these days: "Hollywoodland"

Because as an actor, he still blows.

Maybe that's being harsh. After all, he's really trying to do the serious actor/arthouse thing here in "Hollywoodland." The problem is that neither he nor his character are all that interesting. I guess you could say that makes him good for this role -- they have so much in common! -- but I still came away thinking he's largely a waste of a chin.

Our story centers around the death of George Reeves, aka Superman from the old TV series. Seems that ol' George was something of a has-been by this time, but some folks seem to think he may not have killed himself as much as got himself killed. Follow? It's not that hard, really.

It hasn't been that long since I saw the movie, but even now I'm having a hard time remembering where it begins. I think with Reeves' death, which gets a cursory investigation by the police before private eye Adrien Brody is brought in. Then we get into the flashbacks with Affleck as Reeves and Diane Lane -- here's where I'd say "woof," but we'll get to that -- as the wife of a movie studio exec who gets involved with the Man of Steel. We also see Bob Hoskins as that studio exec, Molly Parker as Brody's ex-wife and Robin Tunney as another Reeves paramour. Not a bad cast, I'll admit. Too bad some of them were wasted. (And I don't mean drunk, which would have been fun.)

Parts of "Hollywoodland" are easy enough to like. (Not the title, though, which, from what I can gather, is meant only to sound hip by referencing the original version of what is now the "Hollywood" sign. Has nothing to do with the story, far as I can tell.) Brody is woefully miscast as the private dick -- that nose ... oyfa -- but still manages to have some fun and get off some good lines. The movie also looks good, and the bouncing between the current case and past events works well enough.

But more things are wrong. Lane somehow manages to not be hot, which is a crying shame. Um, she is hot, people! Or do I have to pop "Streets of Fire" or, better yet, "Lady Beware" into the DVD player again? Affleck is, despite his best attempts, mostly simple and not in an artiste-type way. Just never bought his whole tortured actor schtick. The movie also is too long, and the resolution ultimately is rather unsatisfying.

But let's end on a high note, shall we? By that I mean recognizing an actress who has been overlooked far too long. I speak, of course, of Robin Tunney. True, I'll confess to being sweet on her ever since those first few minutes in "Empire Records" where she hadn't yet shaved her head. Then came "The Craft," "Supernova," "Vertical Limit" and "Cherish" -- distinctly different movies united by their remarkable mediocrity (and that's being kind).

Still, fair Robin has something about her, and perhaps the most redeeming quality of "Hollywoodland" is that this actress -- now mostly relegated to TVdom -- gets a nice little role to flex her acting muscles. She's pretty good here -- her baby-doll voice is perfect -- and gets off maybe the best line in this exchange with Brody's private eye character:

Him: Lady, I can nail you with this.
Her: D'Artagnan, you couldn't nail me with roses and a trip to Vegas

You got me there. But let's give it a try, OK?