Star Maps

I went into this movie only knowing via the IMDb that this was a " comedy drama " featuring a protagonist called Carlos who dreams of being an actor . This is something many people registered over at the IMDb can relate too , we all dream of being stars in Hollywood , not necessarily movie stars ( It's screen writing with me chaps ) but obviously we want to make a success of our lives . So I sat down on the sofa with a cup of tea to watch this comedy drama

Teenager Carlos lives with his stepfather Pepe and sick mother along with his brother and sister . Luckily Pepe is well connected in Hollywood and can get Carlos " work " which beats selling Star Maps on street corners . Oh hold on this " work " involves Carlos stripping naked and letting men do sexual things to Carlos . OMFG you mean Pepe is pimping his stepson ! Who's the idiot who wrote off to the IMDb saying that this was a comedy drama ?

Let me warn everybody coming to this entry that STAR MAPS is a bleak , depressing , nihilistic movie where the audience never feel like smiling once . It's very much like a Larry Clark movie containing unlikable characters and rather explicit sex There's a scene where Maria ( Carlos sister )invites her boyfriend round for dinner and as soon as he sat down at the table I had to switch over because you soon cotton onto the fact that if someone is about to experience anything resembling happiness someone else is going to enter the scene and take it away from them as sure as night follows day

This is something of a backhanded compliment to writer/director Miguel Arteta because you genuinely care for the characters in the movie , you feel great sympathy for some of them but because the majority are shown as freaks , pimps and whores it becomes very difficult and despite being very involving it's far from entertaining due to the subject matter .

"Star Maps" appears to be a sincere dramatic product which simply spreads itself too thin. The film attempts to focus on the problems, unusual in both quantity and character, which beset a Mexican family in Los Angeles. However, it spreads itself to thin, lacks purpose, plays out uneven, is occasionally hard to swallow, and when it runs out of time it just quits. Overall the film has its moments but they're too few and too far between. A somewhat gritty drama with strong sexual content, "Star Maps" just doesn't measure up. Most likely to be appreciated by indie lovers and Mex-Am audiences. (C-)

Carlos is a young man with dreams of becoming an actor in Hollywood. However to get money and fill time until he hits it big, Carlos gets drawn back into his father's business which involves lots of young men selling maps to the homes of the stars – or rather using this as a front for acting as male prostitutes. When one of his clients offers him a bit part in her television show, Carlos takes the chance for a few lines to start him off. His father naturally objects and warns him that only him and his prostitution racket are what Carlos will ever have, but Carlos continues with his dream.

Despite having lots of things that it could focus on and therefore quite a bit of potential this film turns out to be rather a messy and unfocused affair that does enough to keep you watching without ever doing enough to grip or truly engage. It does this by simply keeping moving but for my money that was not enough; I wasn't really convinced by the world I was being shown – neither the gigolo world or the opportunities that Carlos got as a result of it. The two didn't sit well together and I didn't think Carlos suited either of them as a character either. Failing to convince me or engage me meant that I never got into the characters or their stories so, no matter what happens in the film, I honestly never cared for any of them enough to stick with it.

The cast try hard but most of them are just left trying without the material to work with. Spain was surprisingly good but his character was unconvincing and there was only so much he could do with it by himself. Figueroa is larger than life but again the material doesn't allow him to be a person. The support cast all have the same problems, all of them are trying hard but the material allows the audience to remain apathetic about them and their fate and their performances are diminished as a result.

Overall this is an interesting enough film but it tries to do too much and succeeds in none of them. The main failure is that it is never convincing enough to engage and, although it never drags, it is certainly difficult to care about all the things that are happening. Distracting then, but certainly not a "good" movie.

STAR MAPS

Aspect ratio: 1.85:1

Sound format: Dolby Stereo

The dreams of a Mexican-American boy (Douglas Spain) are shattered by his abusive father.

STAR MAPS is a reasonably engaging, though somewhat downbeat, examination of frustrated idealism amid the seedier side of life in Hollywood. The film's cynical narrative mixes dysfunctional families, mental breakdown, suicide, prostitution (male and female), sex and violence into a brew which simmers nicely without ever boiling over into something truly remarkable.

"Star Maps" is a unusual for a Hollywood film. It is quite literate and does not follow the conventional Hollywood film structure. In fact, it views like a film version of a literary novella. This is probably it's weakness and it's strength. I am being very vague because I do not like to step on anyone's enjoyment of film by inadvertently spilling the beans. Just take my word for it that "Star Maps" is a literate movie with very talented Hispanic actors and actresses.

"Star Maps" is the bittersweet journey of a Mexican hustler who wants to be a famous actor but finds that goal challenged by his extremely dysfunctional family. This movie is a great Hollywood coming-of-age story in the vein of "Where The Day Takes You" and "Eddie Presley". Definitely worth a look!