SHORT TAKE: RKO 281

RKO-281PosterBaja

This HBO dramatization of the making of Citizen Kane and the controversy it caused is shockingly bad.  It plays fast and loose with the actual historical facts for no reason that I can discern since the actual facts are way more interesting than the ones they made up.

James Cromwell gives a pretty good impersonation of William Randolph Hearst but the rest of the cast is uniformly lame, though I’m not sure how much the actors can be blamed given the synthetic dialogue they’re saddled with.

Not worth a look even if the subject interests you.