Silent Movie

The Hollywood film studio Big Picture Studios has had a series of financial losses, and it is facing the threat of a hostile takeover by a conglomerate called Engulf and Devour (a parody version of Gulf + Western, the real-life conglomerate who took over Paramount Pictures). The recovering alcoholic director Mel Funn is in need of a comeback vehicle, and he wants to secure funding from Big Pictures. He has the idea of creating Hollywood's first silent film in decades, and to recruit Hollywood's biggest stars as its cast. As Mel and his assistants find unconventional ways to approach and recruit Burt Reynolds, James Caan, Liza Minnelli, Anne Bancroft, the ruthless executives of Engulf and Devour try to sabotage their project. They hire nightclub performer Vilma Kaplan to seduce Mel and to break his heart. Mel drinks himself into a stupor, but Vilma helps restore him to sobriety and to complete his film. She is genuinely attracted to him, and she has no actual loyalty towards Engulf and Devour.