Film

Mistress

Name: Mistress
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Released: 1992
Cast: Robert Wuhl, Martin Landau, Jace Alexander, Robert De Niro, Laurie Metcalf

Satire

A screenwriter watches his script get systematically mangled as wealthy producers demand their mistresses be cast in exchange for financing. Barry Pryor's acidic comedy about art compromised by commerce, ego, and desire. It's cynical, brisk, and packed with a stellar cast having visible fun tearing the movie business apart from inside.

TMDb rating

2.7

If you liked this

The Player1992

Robert Altman's simultaneously savage and loving portrait of Hollywood excess. Like Mistress, it uses ensemble comedy to skewer the industry's absurdities, but with a darker edge and more elaborate narrative ambition.

But The satire can feel scattered across too many targets, and some cultural references have dated harder than others. The tone whipsaws between comedy and genuine menace.

Swimming with Sharks1994

A caustic, sharper-edged look at power and desperation in Hollywood. One man trapped by a tyrannical producer, and the script gradually reveals its own dark humor about complicity and survival in a corrupt system.

But It's considerably meaner than Mistress, with uncomfortable scenes of humiliation. The premise—abduction and torture—makes it less fun and more genuinely unpleasant.

Get Shorty1995

A crime figure tries to break into producing, and like Mistress, it's an ensemble romp through Hollywood's venality. Fast, charming, and packed with excellent actors clearly enjoying the ride and the script's sharp comic timing.

But The plot mechanics matter less than the performance and attitude. If you prefer tight narrative over banter and character, it can feel slight.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Mistress

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

The Producers1968

Both are comedies about fraud in the entertainment business, where the scheme itself—convincing people to finance a lie—is more interesting than any resolution.

Mel Brooks's original musical comedy about two con men who scheme to make a flop on purpose. It shares Mistress's DNA—the mechanics of lying for money, the collision between art and desire—but Brooks wraps it in vaudeville energy and absolute conviction that the con is the plot.

But It's broad, even by 1967 standards. Musical numbers and slapstick may feel dated or tiresome if you prefer subtle comedy. The sexism is casual and pervasive.

Barton Fink1991

The Coen Brothers' fever dream about a playwright hired to write screenplays, wrestling with creative death and compromise. Surreal, darkly funny, and genuinely haunting about art's corruption by commerce.

But It's intentionally nightmarish and symbolic rather than realistic. The plot becomes increasingly abstract, which some find brilliant and others find pretentious.

The Sting1973

A con game unfolding across the Depression, with Robert Redford and Paul Newman orchestrating an ensemble of criminals. It has Mistress's pleasure in watching smart people outwit others through charm and deception, plus genuine stakes and style.

But It's considerably longer and more intricate. If you want quick payoffs and rapid-fire comedy, you'll need patience for setup and mood.

Glengarry Glen Ross1992

Released the same year, it's also a scathing ensemble piece about men corrupted by systems that reward ruthlessness. High-wire dialogue, fantastic cast, and genuine stakes beneath the dark comedy.

But It's suffocating and relentlessly male. The desperation is real, so the humor is uncomfortable rather than light. Some find it repetitive.

The Hudsucker Proxy1994

Another Coen Brothers ensemble piece about capitalism, ambition, and screwball mechanics. Tim Robbins and Paul Newman in a film about keeping a naive man as a patsy while everyone around him schemes.

But The tone is deliberately artificial and theatrical. If you prefer naturalism to stylization, it will feel mannered and cold.

In Good Company2004

A younger man takes over a magazine from an older editor, and corporate compromise slowly poisons their relationship. It's gentler than Mistress but hits similar notes about losing control of your life's work to forces beyond yourself.

But The gentleness means lower stakes. It feels more like a network drama than a razor-sharp comedy, and the romance subplot dilutes the satire.

What Just Happened2008

A producer navigates impossible demands from stars, studios, and his own ego. Based loosely on the director's own experiences, it's a weary, honest look at compromise and the slow death of vision through a thousand small betrayals.

But It's more resigned than angry, and the episodic structure means there's no real payoff. If you want vindication or a climax, you won't find one.

Husbands1970

Both pit male vanity against actual human connection. Where Mistress finds comedy in the collision, Cassavetes finds pain. Both are ensemble pieces where the real story is what men will do to keep their pride intact.

Cassavetes's three-hour improvised ramble through male friendship and midlife crisis. It has Mistress's ensemble energy and its interest in how men negotiate desire and ego, but Cassavetes treats it as tragedy where Barry Pryor treats it as comedy. Raw, unguarded, genuinely unsettling.

But It's structureless and hangs on performance. If you need plot momentum, you'll find it maddening. The length is extreme and the emotional terrain is bleak.