Star

After the introspective FOLLOW, Guy Ritchie's STAR is a complete 180-degree turn away in terms of style, mood and subject. Fortunately, it's a roaring success.

Clive Owen showcases a previously unseen facility for comedic timing. From his mock innocence as the Star berates him to a later moment when he says with tongue firmly planted in cheek, "I've think we've lost them.", Owen is a delight in this charming little revenge fantasy for those who have had to put up with rude, insolent customers in their line of profession.

Ritchie directs the film pretty much as an extension of the style he used in SNATCH and LOCK, STOCK, & 2 SMOKING BARRELS. All his trademarks are here; Freeze frames, voice overs, and gratuitous use of English pop songs. Combined with the fact that yes, as everyone now knows, that's his wife Madonna as the Star who gets her fateful comeuppance, and the film ends up being the most crowd-pleasing of the series. Highly recommended.

For me the best short from The Hire-series, season 1. Guy Ritchie directs his wife Madonna and it is definitely his style, seen in 'Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels' and 'Snatch'. Husband and wife should have stopped after this one instead of making 'Swept Away'.

The story: Madonna is a very arrogant star and The Driver has to take her to some event and he has to lose some followers, like her manager.

With more funny moments then I have seen in the others, a great ending, and music very well used, this is my favorite.

Guy Ritchie is one helluva director, as was apparent in both "Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels" and "Snatch." He shows his directing prowess in short films as well with Star, featuring the freakin AWESOME actor of understatement Clive Owen and the "surprise" addition of Madonna playing the famous personna from hell. Cool dialogue, INCREDIBLE cinematography, and of course, awesome direction. How'd they lock the camera down to the car when it's 30 feet away? Amazing! If BMW doesn't release these films on DVD, they're crazy. If Clive Owen isn't starring in a ton of great films in the next few years because of these films, hollywood is crazy. If Guy Ritchie ever makes a bad film, I'm crazy.

If you've got the CPU power and harddrive space, I'd totally recommend downloading BMW's propriatary movie player from their site so you can watch the films in nice high-resolution and director commentary, just like a DVD! Looking forward to the Making Of and Powderkeg.

BMW: Please release a DVD of these films! Please! Please! Now! Thanks.

Before the review, a brief plot summary: Star is a famous rock star visiting a small town who is sick of poor service and bodyguards swarming around her. In addition to this, she is spoiled and cocky. In an attempt to loose her protectors, she jumps into The Driver's BMW and orders him around, critizing his driving and demanding he hurry up so that they outrun the guards. Finally, The Driver decides to listen.

As you probably know, BMW has made a series of short films called "The Hire" about a mysterious driver played by Clive Owen as it's driver and a chaueffeur for hire. Each of these films have suprisingly big directors, like John Frankenheimer (of "Reindeer Games") and Ang Lee (of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon"). They are really just commercials with an action-film plot. Most are just fun car chases, but this and "The Follow" are the ones with true stories. So, they are both sort of expiriments, in different ways. "The Follow" directed by Kar-wai Wong (of "In The Mood for Love") shows, as it involves drama and emotion. This film is an expiriment with comedy.

To put it shortly, it works.

Guy Ritchie (of "Snatch") writes and directs this comic action short. All "The Hire" films have fairly popular actors, but this one has the biggest by far: Guy casts his wife Madonna in a role similar to that of her real life. The chemistry between her and Clive is fun, and it's entertaining to watch The Driver slowly respond to Star in a witty way. Then the hilarity begins, as he finally listens and "steps on it".... totally suprising her. You can't help laughing as Madonna gets tossed around in the BMW, and the whole film belongs in the "memorable quotes" section (although viewers should note this has stronger language than the other films as Clive uses the word "c**t" once). It even has the "whoo hoo" song in it!

The previous films are good action flicks, but if you want a bit of humour, check this out. The closing scene is hilarious as Star is humiliated in front of all her fans.

Please note, at the time I'm writing this, the final BMW film "Powder Keg" hasn't been released yet. So far, however, this is the best short film of the series. Great action and driving along with some great laughs make for a truly enjoyable time. The acting by both "the Driver" and "the Star" are top notch even though it only lasts a couple of minutes. I hope to see Clive Owen in a feature film soon.