Hollywood's always been a place larger than life. Even Hollywood's mythology is far more grandiose than whatever mundane mythology you'll find about Topeka or Dayton or anywhere else.

So when one decides to make a story about a typical film producer suffering through a typically bad week in Hollywood— stripped bare of those lofty highs or cataclysmic lows, one might pause to wonder why.

What is Hollywood stripped of its mythology? Reduced to the ordinary? Subdued to average?

"What Just Happened?" takes that particularly bland—although some might call it daring—route. Robert De Niro plays Ben, whose marriage is crumbling; his newest film is in trouble, and his upcoming, impending blockbuster may never even get off the ground.

The trouble is, isn't that pretty much Hollywood in a nutshell? The daily grind? Something expected of somebody paying a soon-to-be ex-wife $30K in monthly support?

If it were easy, wouldn't everybody be doing it?

I don't know. Maybe I've been spoiled by four seasons of HBO's "Entourage"—30 titillating, superbly rendered minutes of weekly Hollywood highs and lows.

So when director Barry Levinson decides to show us two hours of all that tepid, ordinary stuff in the middle, I'm not sure why. Is he looking for empathy?

"What Just Happened?" is a slice-of-life character sketch about a man of surprisingly dull character. In this 48hour portrayal, Ben does very little about his personal or professional life except drive from one circumstance to another. He pretty much mopes and pouts along the way.

A colleague has committed suicide; his daughter's in crisis; his runaway director's about to sink his latest film; a pretty young starlet's all over him—but Ben seems to be a man running on Novocaine. These people flitter in—and then, poof, they're gone again, with little effect on Ben or the audience. It's like slicing into an apple pie and finding no apples. There must be better pies to try.

I may be nearly alone in this observation, but here goes. I think it's almost impossible to beat Robert De Niro as tortured soul: Jake La Motta in "Raging Bull" or Travis Bickle in "Taxi Driver" or Rupert Pupkin in "The King of Comedy." But the man seems oddly uncomfortable playing "nice guy" roles, like he's not quite sure what to do without the rage or inner turmoil.

And Ben is a nice guy. A nice guy in Hollywood. And unless you're doomed to failure or destined to succeed against all odds, you might as well be a doortodoor vacuum cleaner salesman in Cleveland.

Poppy's a North London schoolteacher who can't seem to stop smiling. One senses that Poppy (Sally Hawkins) views life through rose-colored spectacles that have become permanently attached to her face.

The trouble is, Poppy's turning 30, and there are some who believe it's time for Poppy to grow up.

Depending on your point of view, this is either incredibly useful or insane advice.

In director Mike Leigh's casually meandering, occasionally delightful film, one senses that it is time for Poppy to mature a tad.

Her bicycle (Poppy's only means of transportation) gets stolen. Her younger sister is pregnant. Trouble is brewing with a petulant student in her classroom.

Sometimes even the brightest, flightiest of souls need moments of introspection and contemplation. All play, no work, and, sooner or later, one stops to wonder what's the fun of playing anyway?

"Happy-Go-Lucky" is the story of Poppy's wake-up call to reality. This one, too, is a sliceof-life fable, a day here, a day there—and Poppy's call to the real world comes in the form of driving lessons, specifically Scott, an acerbic driving instructor (a marvelously unstable Eddie Marsan).

One feels that, all her life, Poppy's charm and upbeat chatter could lift the spirits of all who encountered her. Yet her ceaseless good spirits push Scott into a deeper funk that ultimately breaches the comedic/dramatic line. Not necessarily a bad thing, mind you—simply the revelation that growing up can be painful now and then.

And just how Poppy manages maturity—I think that's one of the film's highlights. Yeah, it's a sweet film, but also laced with a hard-edged morality.

Both Poppy (I expect we may see more of the thoroughly British Hawkins) and her pals help lift an ordinary tale into a watchable little fable.

Maturity isn't a horrible trait, after all. A little can go a long way.