Critical Reception
"Hollywood" received mixed reviews from music critics. Alexis Petridis of The Guardian noted that Madonna divulges in the song that not everyone who wants to make it in the movies succeeds. Michael Hubbard of musicOMH commented that everything rhymes with "Hollywood", and after commented the song would be better without these lazy lyrics. Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine thought "following up 'American Life' with 'Hollywood' was nearly as ballsy" due to its lyrical content. Edna Gundersen of USA Today noted that the song "attest to her undiminished skills as a shrewd pop composer".
Ian Youngs of BBC News noted that the song was another diatribe about fame and how difficult it is being in the public eye. He further added that it "ranks among the disappointments" on the album saying it feels lacklustre and commented about the "embarrassing rap". Jude Adam of Third Way magazine gave the song a positive review, considering it as "quirky, sunny, and sweet in perfect mesures." Stephen Thompson of The A.V. Club considered the song as "actually catchy". Dimitri Ebrlich of Vibe magazine also gave a positive review for the song, writing that it was "a perfect fit" for American Life.
Read more about this topic: Hollywood (Madonna Song)
Famous quotes containing the words critical and/or reception:
“The male has been persuaded to assume a certain onerous and disagreeable rôle with the promise of rewards—material and psychological. Women may in the first place even have put it into his head. BE A MAN! may have been, metaphorically, what Eve uttered at the critical moment in the Garden of Eden.”
—Wyndham Lewis (1882–1957)
“He’s leaving Germany by special request of the Nazi government. First he sends a dispatch about Danzig and how 10,000 German tourists are pouring into the city every day with butterfly nets in their hands and submachine guns in their knapsacks. They warn him right then. What does he do next? Goes to a reception at von Ribbentropf’s and keeps yelling for gefilte fish!”
—Billy Wilder (b. 1906)