Everybody Famous

In this very subtle satire 'losers' get a glance at stardom. And it's the way director Deruddere portrays them, that they stay authentic and win your sympathy, rather than empathy. Father (De Pauw), your average hard-working factory man, is so obsessed with the singing career of his not so talented daughter (named after Marva, a famous Belgian singing icon) that, after he's been put out of his job, he decides to kidnap a famous Belgian singer to get the attention of her manager. He wants fame, she wants it too, but doesn't know what she's in for. After the kidnapping has taken place a great satire unfolds that stays entertaining till the end, without getting absurd (well just a little). A very enjoyable little film that deserves a bigger audience than it got.

Dominique Deruddere has managed to uncover the flemish spirit with 'Iedereen beroemd!'. The actors do a great job and the story is very touching. 'Iedereen beroemd!' ranks very high among my all-time favorite belgian movies! a must-see for anyone who is in the mood for a charming tale of the love between a father and a daughter and the dreams they both have. Simply brilliant!

This movie reminded me of The Dinner Game crossed with The Castle. On one hand it had the audience laughing at the characters but on the other feeling sorry for them. Any movie that can achieve both of these things with such ease is a very good movie. The story is very well thought out and executed. And last but not least, to top it all off, Melbourne, Australia gets a mention! To quote the MIFF guide "Go see the real deal before Hollywood rips it off."

This film was reccomended to me by some Belgian people I talk to on the net, they said it was one of the best to come out of their country so I decided to check it out. All in all, I have to say that I really enjoyed it. It's not entirely original, but what it lacks in originality, it makes up for with it's ability to charm and entertain. I don't want to give away too much of it, but the story mainly revolves around fame and the desire to achieve it. Of course, it's always much harder for some, more so than others; mainly those who aren't blessed with the looks, or all of the talent. "Everybody's Famous" is one of those rare, truly "feel good" films that don't come around too often. Hollywood often tries to make films like this, but often fall flat by making it too cutesy. One thing I don't understand about this movie is how it ever got rated "R"... were the ratings board members drunk or asleep the day they rated this movie? There's no bad language in it, and only a brief amount of (non-explicit) nudity. So, if you're wondering if it's appropriate for the younger crowd, I would definately reccomend it for them; it should've been rated PG-13. The bottom line is, if you appreciate charming, feel-good flicks about the various struggles in life, then you'll love this. It was also nice to see that this film was nominated for an Academy Award in 2001 (Best Foreign Language Film).

"Iedereen beroemd" isn't Deruddere's best movie (check out "Crazy love" to see that) but it was nominated for an Oscar and that already is a great historyfact in Belgian moviemaking. Deruddere is the sort of leading new wave directors over here as since decades most Belgian movies are just adaptions from old Belgian novels but with this movie Dominique can claim that he reached the brilliance of Ken Loach... What we get here is laughing with the common people... A simple father (superbly played by Josse De Pauw) believes in his overweighted daughter that one day she will be famous (the girl cant sing and at local contests she tries to imitate Madonna). We all see it's a lost case till Jean (Josse De Pauw) decides to kidnap Belgium's most fave singer...he asks no money but the manager must write a hittune for his daughter... Hilarious at times, unbelievable at others but this is great to see.