Dream Machine – As the first episode of Angelyne begins, Angelyne (Emmy Rossum) tells herself that she is not a woman. Instead, she is an icon. She forces the man outside her door to read about her identity finally being uncovered. Before Paris Hilton, the blonde bombshell was famous for being famous. Her true identity has remained secret for all those years until now. In 1981 or 1982, workers begin taking down a billboard for Universal Studios. It is replaced by a billboard for Angelyne. On television, a news report discusses the mysterious billboard. During interviews with locals, one man claims Angelyne bought all the billboards trying to be a star. When Angelyne is interviewed, she says she is famous for being on billboards.

She eventually goes on television and puts up a 10-story tall mural of herself. The mystery of Angelyne has become an obsession although she refuses to tell anyone anything about her past. In 2019, she calls herself an innocent little doll, wh@re, or porn star. She says people see what they want to see. Jeff Glaser, who is a journalist for The Hollywood Reporter, admits he loves her for the same reasons he loves Los Angeles. He mentions the extremes, the weirdness, the glamour, and the enigma. Angelyne believes there is something sexy about a mystery hence why people want to know more about her story. Jeff says you could disappear and reappear as someone else back then although you can’t do that now.

Angelyne existed at a point when that was still possible. The President of the Angelyne Fan Club, Rick Krause (Hamish Linklater), discusses how everyone wants to interview her. Jeff explains that he set out to learn more about Angelyne and he was successful. As for Angelyne, she says Jeff Glaser (Alex Karpovsky) turned out to be a liar and she hates liars. In 2015, Jeff is given the photos he asked for as he learns she was in a band called Baby Blue in the 70s. The guy in the photo with her is named Cory Hunt. While Angelyne says Cory is dead, Cory says he is not. He suggests she would say that because he created her. Angelyne corrects herself and says Cory doesn’t live in LA anymore, but she sometimes gets the two confused.

Cory claims the story starts with him and she was nothing before him. Around 1977, Angelyne goes into the club where Baby Blue is getting ready to play. In the present, she tells the interviewer that Cory will likely tell a story about how he saved or discovered her. She was already busy modeling and acting, but the characters weren’t reflective of who she was on the inside. Instead, she had a different plan. She was looking for a band that was going nowhere so she could mold it. That is how she discovered them. She admits they weren’t much to look at it, but it didn’t matter because nobody was looking. Cory claims they were already gaining a lot of buzz. After performing, Cory discovered Angelyne who he describes as a divine creature from outer space.

Cory walks over to her and asks what she thought of the band. Angelyne pretends she wasn’t listening. He says they were incredible or fine. She warns him that he’ll likely miss it if he is just aiming for fine so he needs to aim higher. Angelyne recommends playing every show like it is the Whisky and he’ll be there before he knows it. She turns down a drink and puts out his cigarette because she doesn’t drink or smoke. They end up talking about Cory’s dad and his Soviet work ethic. He told his dad he wasn’t going to do that. Instead, he moved to LA, started a band, and played at every club around here. Cory believes he’ll eventually prove them wrong and play at the Whisky. She claims she never knew her father who died when she was a baby.

She learns that his sign is Aquarius. Angelyne goes home after saying it is no wonder he is a rebel. Cory says she would occasionally share things about herself to gain sympathy, but she never told the truth about her past. Cory follows her outside to say she shouldn’t be walking alone. He also can help her get a car since he works at a garage. Angelyne wants a fast car so she can know that she can escape if necessary. She is saving up to buy her very own Starvette which is what Barbie calls her Corvette.

She would love to be like Barbie who is an icon. She explains that Barbie lives a painless existence that she thinks would be nice. Cory assures her that he would never let her get hurt. At home, Angelyne tells Cory that she came to Hollywood to follow her dream and had to give up everything as a result. She reveals she has to use candles because her a-hole neighbor cut her power. Although she says it is a work in progress, Cory says it is fine. She stops him from entering the room with the mirrors before a parrot flies out. Angelyne says Person was there when she got here. He sees the Marilyn Monroe pictures on the wall as Angelyne says she is her mother and she always knew fame was her destiny.

She pitches the idea that they can get famous together with Angelyne singing in his band. Cory and Angelyne disagree as to who invited who to join the band and whose band it was. They give Cory’s demo to Marilyn as an offering before Angelyne claims she wants them to formalize it with their blood. Once they finish the ritual, the lights come back on. Angelyne believes that is a sign that Marilyn agrees they should be in a band together. After she realizes what time it is, she gives Cory a picture of herself with her phone number and sends him home. Angelyne knows how to get what she wants so the band was just a part of her plan. Later, Cory tells his friends about her as he describes her as disciplined. She kicks him out at the same time every night so she can dye her hair and take a bubble bath.

Bud wonders whether they need her or Cory needs her. In the present, Bud Griffin (Antjuan Tobias) talks about Cory who went to the Berkley School of Music but left because he was too good. He had God-given talent before Angelyne came along and did a number on him. She joins the men and tells them about the importance of marketing using their posters. She wants to hire a keyboardist too. They find out that they’re being watched by Tim, Freddy (Charlie Rowe), Hector, and Keith. She takes it up on herself to pick one of the keyboardists and selects Freddy. Angelyne tells the interviewer that the band loved her. Cory confesses that people thought it was a joke at first. He took photos of Angelyne every day and must’ve taken thousands over the years.

She says he took photos but not the ones everyone knows because he never had a photographer’s eye. Cory argues she picked the overexposed shots to hide the flaws on her face. He says people were interested in their band. He snorts drugs while telling his friends about love. Cory claims they’re getting close to getting on that rocket ship. When Bud tells him he is starting to sound like Angelyne, he suggests she is starting to sound like him. They work while Ang bathes at home. Cory believes Bud was a little jealous of their relationship. After Ang meets with them, she says they need to take down all the posters. Bud gets upset and asks what she does for the band. She argues that she is the reason people show up and he is replaceable. Bud says okay she can take them down.

Cory seems okay with taking them down after Bud leaves. Ang says she gets what she wants. Bud says she had to go and he thinks Cory was relieved, but Cory says he was pissed. The guys had a point so he knew it had to be done. Cory does his best to tell her before Steve Hughes arrives and interrupts. Steve needs his car fixed and he handles the bookings for the Whisky. Ang says it was all part of the plan while Bud admits they couldn’t kick her out anymore. After they perform, Ang asks Freddy if he is going to do drugs with the others. It really isn’t his thing. As for Angelyne, the crowd is her drug. He tells her that she was great tonight while she calls him the glue that held them together. Cory says he finally felt like he had made it after playing the Whisky until a week later.

Cory bursts through the bathroom door to tell Ang about the article criticizing their performance. Fray Critic, Jane Ferro (Judy Kain), reads the article saying Ang couldn’t decide whether she wanted to sing or strip. While Cory believes they’ve been turned into a joke, Angelyne thinks it is a good thing that they’re being written about. She encourages him to get a so-what mentality. Cory complains that he worked so hard before a woman came around and messed everything up. He believes she has made it all about her, but Ang suggests it is all about her. He calls her a black hole that sucks the life out of everything she touches. Angelyne says a lion never loses sleep over the opinions of a sheep. Cory would always get pulled back into that vortex when he tried to run.

He believed it was his responsibility to take care of her and that he was meant to be with her. Cory tries to apologize to her later. Ang doesn’t believe in sorry because it means nothing so Cory offers to show her. He gives her a Corvette. Although the color is wrong, Ang seems thrilled with it. He just wants to be happy and asks her not to use the car to get away from him. Cory proposes only for Ang to say she doesn’t believe in marriage. While Angelyne kept the car, she describes marriage as total suffocation. She doesn’t know why she’d get married when she is sufficient enough by herself. Cory is invited to take a spin with her. He believes only those who’ve never been in love would judge him for getting in the car with Ang.

He claims he taught her the NY hustle and she learned it well. Cory felt like he had to help Angelyne survive Hollywood because it is a world of predators. He puts up more posters for her. Angelyne complains about Cory not being there since they were supposed to take more photos. Bud suggests she has been pushing him too hard since they all need a break. Eventually, Freddy and Angelyne are the only ones left. Freddy offers to take pictures of her because he just caught the camera the other day. Cory says there can only be one top dog. He started realizing he and Ang couldn’t both be it. While he didn’t want to compete with her, he had to remember why he came out here in the first place. He had to think of himself first.

In 1981, Cory records his Wild Thing cover. He believes it was exactly what people were looking for. KROQ put the song in their rotation immediately. Cory thought Ang would be happy for him. Later, Cory takes her for a ride and tells her he has a surprise. He shows her his billboard. She begins calling him a traitor since they were supposed to get famous together. Cory says he is just going first and will be able to help her now. Nobody is saying she can’t get a billboard someday too. She gets his guitar from the car before slamming it against the ground. Cory says he is finished with the jealous lunatic. Ang begins laughing and says she can’t go on. She can’t imagine getting a billboard for a cover song.

Ang says he is delusional because he was never on a billboard. The billboard no longer features Cory. He was never on a billboard or in a Chevelle. When she broke up with him, it didn’t happen on this street. She drags him across the street. Once inside, Ang says he knows what he did and where she found him. She finds him with another woman and immediately begins destroying his guitar. Although he apologizes and says he loves her, Angelyne says she doesn’t need him to take care of her. She reminds him that this is her story so he shouldn’t try to make it about him. In the present, Ang says Cory can say whatever he wants about his success but not the billboards.

The billboards are hers and always have been. Cory claims she grew apart before revealing he wrote about it all in his novel. The audiobook should be out soon. Although those were crazy years, they were some of the best days of his life. Angelyne says she loved him, but Cory loved her more. She knows she is too much for some people. Cory tells the interviewer that he checked himself into rehab to get away from her. Six weeks later, Angelyne visits Cory at the rehab. Angelyne just did what she felt like inside.

At the rehab, Ang tells Cory that she forgives him because she doesn’t want the negative energy to hold her or him back. Cory agrees. He is going to be in there for another week or two, but he thinks he is done with LA after that. His friend from New York wants him to join his band so they’re going to do a whole East Coast tour. By the time he is out of there, Angelyne’s image will be all over Los Angeles and everyone will know her name. That was the end of them. Although they kept playing music, they didn’t play together. Cory didn’t care for the music she played after that, but music was only a vehicle for her anyway. When Angelyne leaves, she drives away in her pink Corvette.

Jeff learns that information about Angelyne only goes back so far. He admits she isn’t answering his calls. Angelyne says he called her 82 times before she wondered why not. After all, her fans had been begging for a new billboard for years. She started an Indiegogo campaign to pay for one and asked Rick to call him back. Rick tells Jeff that she’ll meet him now although she can shut down the interview at any time. She is always in charge.

 

Angelyne Review

I should make it clear that I knew nothing about Angelyne going into the first episode and had no expectations whatsoever. In fact, I really wasn’t expecting much at all considering I am not a big fan of shows like this. After the first episode, I am at least interested in finding out more about Angelyne, her billboards, and everything else she did. The story could get interesting since she likely did a lot of things during her time, but I know nothing about her history or antics.

The acting is about as good as one could expect for a series like this. Some things were confusing since the story was being told from two perspectives. There will likely be a lot of unsympathetic characters in this show and that could create issues for many viewers. The nostalgia provided by the scenes and music was nice. Truthfully, Angelyne was mildly entertaining despite some annoyances here and there.

The first episode scores a 6.5 out of 10. Recaps of Angelyne can be found on Reel Mockery here. Find out how to support our work at this link.