Movie-A-Day #58: The Player (1992).

The Oscars ceremony happens tonight, marking the culmination of Hollywood’s annual slurp-fest awards season. But there’s a dark side to all the industry’s self-congratulation, and it’s captured beautifully by Robert Altman in his adaptation of Michael Tolkin’s novel “The Player.” The comedy is pitch black here, but judging by the sheer number of celebrity cameos, most of the town was in on the joke. Or at least wanted to make it look like they were. Watch it after the ceremony tonight; it makes a good bitter tonic to wash away all that saccharine sweetness.