“Nursing a heartache after breaking up with his boyfriend, Jérôme cannot bear the notion of spending Christmas alone in dreary Paris. He spontaneously books a flight to Los Angeles, where he hopes for fun, sun, and maybe even a little Hollywood stardom. Upon arrival, however, Jérôme’s dreams are deflated by poor public transportation, dumpy hostels, and phony Hollywood fringe folk. The journey is not completely fraught with failure, however, as he befriends a sexy pot dealer, a gorgeous trans hooker, and an aging drag queen with her own jaded take on Hollywood.

Jason Bushman’s fabulous first feature constructs a contemporary odyssey through the City of Angels’ underrepresented class, a queer view that the town’s trademark silver screen typically ignores. Eric Debets stars as Jérôme, a sort of gay, French version of Buster Keaton, who hilariously flirts through troubled waters with the constant apparition of his impish ex by his side. Like a homo Homer, Jérôme learns that the fantasy of leaving is ironically countered by an old Hollywood adage: there’s no place like home.” (official festival synopsis)

Director Jason Bushman introduced HOLLYWOOD, JE T’AIME to the premiere’s packed house as “a love letter to his adopted hometown of Los Angeles.” His familiarity with the city is obvious, as he never sticks to the typical Hollywood locations audiences are so used to seeing on screen. The film instead takes place in the grittier parts of Hollywood, the gentrified streets of Silver Lake, the boring parts of West Hollywood, and a dismal Santa Monica beach. It’s real Los Angeles, not a glittery shot of the HOLLYWOOD sign in sight, and it makes a slightly flimsy film seem stronger than it is.

HOLLYWOOD, JE T’AIME occasionally suffers under some stiff acting. The film is Eric Debets’ first feature (he has previously starred in two of Bushman’s shorts), and I often wondered how far Jerome as a character is from Eric as a person – a concern that eats at me. Michael Airington, as Norma Desire, has an overall uneven performance. He has a lot of funny lines, but he often seems so eager to get to them that other exposition is stomped on in order to get them out faster. Diarra Kilpatrick is quite lovely as Kaleesha, but I wished she wouldn’t disappear off our screen quite so much. Chad Allen is the real strength in the supporting cast – his Ross could have been a flat caricature of an LA drug dealer with a secret, but Allen layers his performance in such a way that makes him compelling to watch.

Some of the best scenes in the film involve the wayward Jerome trying to half-heartedly break into Hollywood as an actor. He has two hilarious auditions that are both scathingly funny and scarily true to life. Jerome’s music video casting call is one of the best depictions of the absurdity of Hollywood put to film in awhile, and it serves to show that Bushman does have a real eye for truth and humor.

But HOLLYWOOD, JE T’AIME never seems to figure out what it wants to say. Is it a film about heartbreak? About finding yourself? About forming a “family” of your own making? About the meaning of “home”? About the pratfalls of seeking a Hollywood career? All of these elements are touched on throughout the film, but nothing feels fully formed or satisfyingly developed. It’s not jumpy or jarring, it’s just unfocused and muddled, too many ends to tie up, too quickly tied.