I always look forward to seeing what Jonah Hill comes up with in whatever movie he is cast. A uniquely funny and true original, he takes what could be stereotypes and turns them on their heads. But for the past five years or so he has not had much of a presence on screen, instead drifting from the public eye and only turning up in a couple of roles: Adam McKay’s apocalyptic satire Don’t Look Up and the underrated but exceptional Netflix comedy You People, which he also co-wrote with its director Kenya Barris. Hill really showed chops not just for comedic timing but also writing with that one. He also proved emerging skill as a director with a more personal look at growing up in L.A. with 2018’s Mid90’s.
Now Apple Studios has given him the backing to produce, write, direct and co-star in Outcome, a very dark Hollywood satire that also shows the toll the business can take on even the biggest of stars. Hill knows this story well, not just as an L.A. native and movie star himself but also the highs and lows of being famous. He’s got a real eye for pointed satire but only partially fulfills the promise of this one.
A clip with Johnny Carson introducing a tap-dancing kid on The Tonight Show is where we first meet child sensation Reef Hawk (it is the real Joey Lawrence in the clip meant to be Reef). Cut to present day and it is all grown up Keanu Reeves who plays this now giant superstar with more than a couple of immensely successful action franchises to his name. He is beloved by his fans, and sober for five years in which he stayed out of the public eye. He is now back in the spotlight and personally in a good place when in this new TMZ world a videotape rears its ugly head. Or should I say the threat of a potentially scandalous video emerges through his crisis lawyer Ira Slitz (Hill), who is one of those fast-talking Hollywood types who swoops in to squash disaster before it strikes his two-time Oscar-winning client and gets him canceled. But who is sending this anonymous threat and demanding $15 million to keep it secret? That is the question Reef can’t answer when Ira asks, “Who do you think you might have wronged in the past?” Reef can’t think of anyone, but his assistant Sammy ( a very funny Ivy Wolk) when asked that question has a long list. Apparently in his more drug-induced days Hawk was not necessarily the nice guy his image projects.
So what to do? Ira sends him on a proactive tour to visit some they suspect could be behind this video scheme, even though Reef can’t honestly recall ever being in the position of doing anything like it in the past.
First up is a visit to the bowling alley where he was discovered as a young kid by sleazy manager Richie “Red” Rodriguez (Martin Scorsese), the kind of guy successful actors eventually leave — which is exactly what Reef did of course. They have a heart to heart, and then it is on to Dinah Hawk (Susan Lucci), the rather fierce stage mother with whom Reef does not have a close relationship. She only agrees to thrash out their problems if he will do it on camera for an episode of her own series, The Housewives of Beverly Hills. and so Reef and Mom have it out for her ratings. Then it is on to Savannah (Welker White), an ex-girlfriend who really gives him the tough-love speech. Eventually he comes to uncomfortable confrontation with his closest friends since childhood, and most faithful in good times and bad: yoga teacher Kyle ( Cameron Diaz) and consultant to stars Xander (Matt Bomer). They are in for some comic relief until things turn markedly unfunny. This is a constant problem for Hill in trying to manage tone in a movie that jumps from light to dark on a dime, and repeats the pattern constantly.
Even with a short 83-minute running time, Outcome too often feels repetitive, cutting some genuinely amusing moments short for “heartfelt” monologues, one after the other, that seem to shock the clueless Reef so much he constantly takes to his laptop to google “who hates Reef Hawk?” — it’s spotless as the public persona is he comes up empty every time.
Where Hill gets his mojo to work is letting an exceptional cast do their thing and lift these episodic encounters to a level the script doesn’t provide. Much of it seems improvised, and probably was. Reeves is perfectly cast, a superstar playing a superstar and finding out, just like George Clooney recently did in Jay Kelly, that he has much to regret despite a life most actors would kill for.
Diaz and Bomer are a nice balance for Reef on this personal journey, but like everyone else they get their come-to-Jesus dramatic moments that bring down the good-time vibe of this trio’s relationship. Hill is the one consistently going for the laughs as the legal eagle who has seen it all and likes to share the anecdotes. With capped teeth, a beard, big glasses and bald head, Hill plays it big and doesn’t seem afraid to go way over the top. At least he keeps it fun and lively. It certainly is a big plus that he was able to nab his Wolf of Wall Street director Scorsese, who nails the B-list manager with a world-weary recognition of just who this guy is. The real scene-stealer is Lucci, who plays the mom yearning for her own corner of the fame game and really socks it to her son in a sharply played scene that remains best-in-show here. Also having brief but nice moments are Roy Wood Jr., David Spade, Laverne Cox and even Drew Barrymore who shows up as, yes, Drew Barrymore, hosting her own talk show with the promise of an exclusive tell-all confessional interview set up to confront the unseen video before it becomes public.
The L.A. locations are all used effectively, right down to Hawk’s Malibu digs. Hill has another movie he is directing now, Cut Off, so hopefully this new phase of his career is going to have much to look forward to. He’s a talent, no question, even if Outcome proves a bit too uneven to meet the true potential of its filmmaker this time around.
Producers are Hill, Matt Dines and Alison Goodwin.
Title: Outcome
Distributor: Apple Studios
Release Date: April 10, 2026 (streaming on Apple TV)
Director: Jonah Hill
Screenwriters: Jonah Hill & Ezra Woods
Cast: Keanu Reeves, Jonah Hill, Cameron Diaz, Matt Bomer, Susan Lucci, Laverne Cox, David Spade, Martin Scorsese, Atsuka Okatsuka, Roy Wood Jr., Welker White, Kaia Gerber, Ivy Wolk, Drew Barrymore
Rating: R
Running time: 1 hr 23 mins
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