Stardom - Le culte de la célébrité

In the vein of "This is Spinal Tap" and the other mocumentary films out there, "Stardom" manages to take shots at almost every aspect of celebrity, Canadian-ness, high-fashion and a lot more. I found this one while looking for something to watch on a slow Friday night, "Third Watch" having gone on summer hiatus. I have always liked Akroyd and the plot looked like fun. Of course, had I seen a picture of Jessica Paré, I wouldn't have needed anything more. She looks very much like Liv Tyler, minus the famous and luscious Tyler lips. Paré's character, Tina Menzhal, is the epitome of a beautiful tomboy -- yeah, as one viewer said she looks too pretty to be a trade-school hockey player; she has all her teeth -- but anomalies do exist.

There are some slow moments, but the movie mostly moves along well, blending the footage shot by the obsessive film maker, (played so well by Robert Lepage) -- mostly in B&W -- with stuff from other points of view. It isn't a deep character study -- although we do get to see a bit of what goes into some of the main characters -- but it is a very funny movie. I won't spoil it, but Frank Langella has one scene which represents what a lot of people might want to say, and I bet he enjoyed it. He, Akroyd, Gibson and the other supporting actors do great work. In fact it is some of the best work I've seen Akroyd do since the high days of SNL.

I've never seen Denys Arcand's work before -- and understand this is atypical -- but don't think he has anything to be ashamed of. This is a well made, biting but very funny satire of fame, the media and life in our modern world. Highly recommended at 7.5 out of 10. Really.

"Stardom" is the fourth Denys Arcand film I have watched so far, after - in their chronological order - "Gina", "Jesus Of Montreal", and "Love & Human Remains". Apart from "Gina", which was made much earlier and Arcand was still finding his way, in the other three films I have noticed some shared trademarks: Arcand seems to see filmmaking as a kind of intellectual game with the audience, and he also doesn't like to be constricted in the number of topics that his films touch upon - in fact, in "Stardom" he tackles a different topic in almost every other scene! With that said, the main target of the film is the fashion industry, and in that field Arcand achieves what Robert Altman only dreamed of in his "Pret-A-Porter" (1994). Coming before the social media frenzy and things like "revenge porn" really took over, "Stardom" can be considered quite prophetic as well. Arcand plunges the viewer, as well as the heroine, into a frenetic whirwhind of media coverage; the film is often dryly funny, but also has some amazing serious scenes, like when Jessica Pare confronts her long-missing father. Speaking of Pare, she is a radiant discovery; this must also be one of Dan Aykroyd's best performances. *** out of 4.

Denys Arcand's new film STARDOM is a very funny satire of the celebrity obsessed times we live in. Jessica Pare plays Tina Menzhal, a girl from Cornwall, Ontario who becomes a supermodel. Along the way we see how the media reacts to her and her relationships. The film is funny throughout with wonderful supporting work from Dan Aykroyd, Frank Langhella and Thomas Gibson. Although Arcand goes too far sometimes, the film is overall and excellent satire of modern life.

So...here's the story. As a montrealer and as a Canadian, I'm constantly pushing myself to see some Canadian films. Problem is, there aren't any. Sure, you've got Exotica and The Sweet Hereafter and and The Red Violin, but..uh...other than that, not so much.

Ahhhh....but wait! Here's Stardom. And Gosh, it stars just about every montreal actor there is! And Gee! It's directed by Denys Arcand-why he's just fantastic. Perhaps I should see it.

So I did. About a week ago. And I'm still scratching my head. What the heck is this movie? I can't figure it out for the life of me. Jessica Pare is pretty good as Tina. She embodies the role, and does it gracefully. Dan Ackroyd and Frank Langella are also pretty good too. I've never seen Ackroyd like this before, he's very impressive. The overall film is not easy to classify or understand. I guess it's a satire of the media and I guess it's all about fame and celebrities, but gosh darn...I just don't know...

Listen: Go check it out. It's at least cool to see Montreal double for practically every other city in the world.

Fame. According to Andy Worhol, everybody gets his or her fifteen minutes. How you react when plunged into the spotlight, or whether you even get a choice is something all together different. Tina Menzhal goes from being just another small town girl playing hockey to international superstar when her picture finds its way into the right hands. She suddenly finds herself, starring as fruit in TV commercials, walking the runways in New York and Paris and dating the rich and other famous. Thanks to the invasive camera of a documentary filmmaker, we get an inside view of the madness.

The famous people project an image - they go to all the right parties, drive the snazziest cars, date the shiny people and attract a legion of hangers on. Money, a need to be seen and on occasion pheromones, drive their life and relationships, and they lack any real substance. They are usually found in the company of the most vacuous species of all - the supermodels. Although these flawless walking trademarks are literally placed on a pedestal, with people constantly fawning over them, they are secretly reviled, derided as phonies and thought to be incapable of forming a coherent thought on any subject beyond make-up. Even more bizarre is the fact that most women will go to ridiculous lengths to look like them.

Denys Arcand's Stardom is merciless in its indictment of the media, fame, and the cult of beauty. The media - from "legitimate" reporters to Jerry Springer style talk show hosts - are portrayed as scheming, incompetent, sensationalist sycophants who will do whatever possible to get the story, build up the stars and then spend the rest of the time trying to tear them down. No detail of someone's life is too private to escape scrutiny, indeed the more personal it is the better the story - not a big stretch… The symbiosis between the media and fame is depicted as an incestuous co-dependent relationship.

Cast in the role of Tina is relative newcomer (she had a small role in a mini-series) Jessica Pare. Although she had originally sent in a tape for a minor role, when she walked in for her audition Arcand knew immediately that he had found his Tina. Pare has the necessary combination of stunning beauty, and innocence to be believable as the young unknown catapulted to superstardom. Dan Akroyd, is brilliant as the staid, married restauranteur who becomes so enraptured with Tina's beauty that he completely loses himself and everything he holds dear pursuing her. Frank Langella is amusing as the aging diplomat caught in a late life crisis, who tries vainly to control Tina so that he may bask in her beauty, and is burned when he gets too close to the flame.

Artful direction, up close and personal cinematography and great performances sometimes make you forget you're watching a mockumentary. At times I felt like I was watching an accident - I was repulsed and intrigued at the same time. The characters, although somewhat outlandish at times, are not overly ridiculous - for anyone with any doubts, pick up a copy of "Variety" or "People" to see what fame can do to person.

The real question is whether life will imitate art for Ms. Pare.