HOME |  CULT MOVIES | COMPETITIONS | ADVERTISE |  CONTACT US |  ABOUT US
 
 
 
Newest Reviews
American Fiction
Poor Things
Thunderclap
Zeiram
Legend of the Bat
Party Line
Night Fright
Pacha, Le
Kimi
Assemble Insert
Venus Tear Diamond, The
Promare
Beauty's Evil Roses, The
Free Guy
Huck and Tom's Mississippi Adventure
Rejuvenator, The
Who Fears the Devil?
Guignolo, Le
Batman, The
Land of Many Perfumes
Cat vs. Rat
Tom & Jerry: The Movie
Naked Violence
Joyeuses Pacques
Strangeness, The
How I Became a Superhero
Golden Nun
Incident at Phantom Hill
Winterhawk
Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City
Maigret Sets a Trap
B.N.A.
Hell's Wind Staff, The
Topo Gigio and the Missile War
Battant, Le
Penguin Highway
Cazadore de Demonios
Snatchers
Imperial Swordsman
Foxtrap
   
 
Newest Articles
3 From Arrow Player: Sweet Sugar, Girls Nite Out and Manhattan Baby
Little Cat Feat: Stephen King's Cat's Eye on 4K UHD
La Violence: Dobermann at 25
Serious Comedy: The Wrong Arm of the Law on Blu-ray
DC Showcase: Constantine - The House of Mystery and More on Blu-ray
Monster Fun: Three Monster Tales of Sci-Fi Terror on Blu-ray
State of the 70s: Play for Today Volume 3 on Blu-ray
The Movie Damned: Cursed Films II on Shudder
The Dead of Night: In Cold Blood on Blu-ray
Suave and Sophisticated: The Persuaders! Take 50 on Blu-ray
Your Rules are Really Beginning to Annoy Me: Escape from L.A. on 4K UHD
A Woman's Viewfinder: The Camera is Ours on DVD
Chaplin's Silent Pursuit: Modern Times on Blu-ray
The Ecstasy of Cosmic Boredom: Dark Star on Arrow
A Frosty Reception: South and The Great White Silence on Blu-ray
You'll Never Guess Which is Sammo: Skinny Tiger and Fatty Dragon on Blu-ray
Two Christopher Miles Shorts: The Six-Sided Triangle/Rhythm 'n' Greens on Blu-ray
Not So Permissive: The Lovers! on Blu-ray
Uncomfortable Truths: Three Shorts by Andrea Arnold on MUBI
The Call of Nostalgia: Ghostbusters Afterlife on Blu-ray
Moon Night - Space 1999: Super Space Theater on Blu-ray
Super Sammo: Warriors Two and The Prodigal Son on Blu-ray
Sex vs Violence: In the Realm of the Senses on Blu-ray
What's So Funny About Brit Horror? Vampira and Bloodbath at the House of Death on Arrow
Keeping the Beatles Alive: Get Back
   
 
  Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story Goodbye To Love
Year: 1987
Director: Todd Haynes
Stars: Gwen Kraus, Bruce Tuthill
Genre: Musical, Drama, WeirdoBuy from Amazon
Rating:  7 (from 2 votes)
Review: In 1983, singer Karen Carpenter was found dead from causes related to the "slimming disease" anorexia nervosa. This is the story of her life.

Todd Haynes' first film, co-written with Cynthia Schneider, is a true-life, short docudrama which has all of its main characters played by Barbie and Ken dolls. Due to the use of many original Carpenters' songs on the soundtrack without permission, the film was withdrawn.

Imagine if Gerry Anderson decided to make a Karen Carpenter biography - would the result have been something like this? It even features real hands for those tricky closeups. The film packs a lot into three quarters of an hour, contrasting the duo's conservative, "smooth" music with the turmoil America was going through in the 70's with the Vietnam War and Watergate.

And there is, of course, an examination of anorexia, explaining the effects of the disease and how it affected Karen, who was under pressure from the media and her family to look thin and presentable for her public appearances. All this wears Karen down, and she develops severe psychological problems. In fact, her overbearing family don't come out of this at all well, which could be another reason the film was banned.

But how seriously are we supposed to take all this? The use of dolls gives the film a campy tone, however sincere Haynes is about his subject matter. And the dramatization of domestic scenes resembles something out of a bad soap opera, complete with corny dialogue. From some angles, Superstar looks like a sick joke.

Despite that, the film works surprisingly well, with its attacks on consumerism and use of archive footage lending an abrasiveness to the proceedings. It's obviously the work of a promising talent. Also on the soundtrack: The Captain and Tenille, Gilbert O'Sullivan and Elton John. But no "Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft", unfortunately.
Reviewer: Graeme Clark

 

This review has been viewed 20279 time(s).

As a member you could Rate this film

 

Todd Haynes  (1961 - )

Intriguing American arthouse writer-director whose student film Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story created a big fuss, and is still banned to this day. The episodic Poison was a disappointing follow up, but Safe was heralded as a triumph. His document of glam rock, Velvet Goldmine, wasn't as well received, however Far From Heaven, a 1950's-set melodrama, was Oscar-nominated, as was the similarly-set romance Carol. In between those were an offbeat take on Bob Dylan, I'm Not There, and a miniseries of Mildred Pierce. He followed them with the apparently out of character children's story Wonderstruck.

 
Review Comments (0)


Untitled 1

Login
  Username:
 
  Password:
 
   
 
Forgotten your details? Enter email address in Username box and click Reminder. Your details will be emailed to you.
   

Latest Poll
Which star probably has psychic powers?
Laurence Fishburne
Nicolas Cage
Anya Taylor-Joy
Patrick Stewart
Sissy Spacek
Michelle Yeoh
Aubrey Plaza
Tom Cruise
Beatrice Dalle
Michael Ironside
   
 
   

Recent Visitors
  Stuart Watmough
Paul Shrimpton
Darren Jones
Mary Sibley
Enoch Sneed
Mark Le Surf-hall
  Louise Hackett
Andrew Pragasam
   

 

Last Updated: