The Brittany Murphy Story

This was pretty terrible, even by Lifetime standards. I think the biggest problem (amongst many) was the girl who played Brittany Murphy (Amanda Fuller). Not only did she looking nothing like Brittany but she doesn't embody her in any way; speech (that cute scratchy voice), mannerisms, hairstyles, or clothing. Just a very dry performance that could have been done by anyone.

Honestly they did a better job casting the Ashton Kutcher lookalike than Brittany, you could at least tell who he was supposed to be. The dude playing Simon Monjack (the husband) was cast well too.

I also never felt like this was "the true story" or that I gained any insight whatsoever into her life, it all just felt like speculation. Her initial rise to stardom was interesting, I guess but it seemed to happen very quickly, almost glazed over with the movie focusing to a lesser degree on her career and more on her relationships with Simon and her mother -who figures prominently throughout.

She meets Simon early on, he's suggested as creepy and even criminal. I actually remember being shocked when I saw pictures of the man she'd married -what was that all about? There are hints of struggles with weight, heart problems, self esteem and paranoia regarding the paparazzi.

Ultimately this doesn't tell an interesting story or capture Brittany in any way. Her death is left a mystery, as is her marriage to Simon and how he also died. 2/24/15

After reading a lot of the other reviews I was shocked at how mean people were being about the casting. These are real people, makes me a little sick. The casting wasn't great but I thought they did an OK job, Brittany Murphy was a star because she had the talent and looks, those are hard shoes to fill. I thought the lead role was cast well, the woman could act, I didn't need her to pass as a double for her character.

The story was sappy, but hey this is a Lifetime movie, we knew what it was going into this. Let's not pretend we were surprised how this played out.

The movie was OK, I gave it 4 stars. Probably won't ever watch it a 2nd time but it was a decent way to pass some time. Wouldn't mind seeing this story get a real treatment with a real budget.

Perky student Amanda Fuller (as Brittany Murphy) acts poorly in a high school stage show. Nevertheless, she is seen by a TV ad producer and quickly becomes successful making commercials - they say it's because she looks average. Hoping to become a real actress, Ms. Fuller demands single mom Sherilyn Fenn (as Sharon) move from New Jersey to Los Angeles, CA. Very quickly, Fuller's "Brittney" lands a guest-starring role on "Murphy Brown" - then, she is off and running. Now a big TV star, "Brittney" wants to be in films. So, she becomes a sensation in "Clueless". But all is not well. Fuller's "Brittney" receives a smile from a young model-type hunk on the set, but he calls her a "chunky monkey." In spite of her pounds, Fuller lands in bed with hunky Adam Hagenbuch (as Ashton Kutcher)...

Photographers swarm around "Brittney". One of them tells her the paparazzi are not real friends - that's quite a revelation...

The "Clueless" star eventually learns photographer Eric Petersen (as Simon Monjack) was correct. Over the years, they become chunky chums. All of it ends up in the teaser scene we see opening this movie. We're told this TV and film star was possibly poisoned. Yet, during the running time, there is no poisoning. That's fine, but don't suggest it again in the closing. One of the big problems with this biography - and there are many - it that the star is the most uninteresting character in the drama. Her mother and "Simon" are more interesting. Director Joe Menendez and his crew occasionally move the players around well, but it's all episodic - there is no connecting tissue. The star's rise seems to happen overnight, and no particular skills are shown. We are left to wonder why this person warranted a movie at all.

** The Brittany Murphy Story (9/6/14) Joe Menendez ~ Amanda Fuller, Sherilyn Fenn, Eric Petersen, Adam Hagenbuch

I will say right up front, I only watched 22 minutes of this atrocity. I gave up when they got to the Alicia Silverstone "character". Seriously?! They couldn't find ONE SINGLE BLONDE ACTRESS to play the part? Instead, they appear to have grabbed some girl off the street and plopped a really, really, really bad blonde wig on her head. Did I mention how BAD the wig was. This movie is just a complete failure. Amanda Fuller sounded more like Tai from Clueless than Brittany Murphy. Frankly, the girl who played Morgan looks more like Brittany. Do yourself and your brain cells a favor and skip this steaming pile of garbage. I would have given it 0 stars if that was an option.

Honestly, I don't know how exactly to feel about this cheap TV movie about Brittany Murphy. She was a beautiful, charming actress who I've loved in everything I have seen her in. Her role in Clueless, and the makeover part felt like just a stereotype of that time when the girl was actually pretty even before the makeover. But this movie shows how she wasn't considered "Hollywood" glamorous and how much that affected her. Beyond her films and the knowledge of her untimely death, I don't know much about her life, so that kept me interested in this movie. But the movie continuously tries to paint things in a ridiculous light, I have no idea what they want to tell. Things like the paparazzi twisting narratives and how opportunities are lost due to bad circumstances are good enough to create a compelling narrative but the film is very weird in the way it presents it. The acting is atrocious across the board and that doesn't help when the plot tries to be grey, so we can't really trust anything in it. The film almost feels like an insult to Brittany's memory, the way it portrayed different decision-making in her life. So many things are not touched upon and glossed over, that a lot of things doesn't make too much sense. I'm only giving this rating because it is somewhat of a true story but at the same time, should I give the lesser rating which I would've given it if it wasn't a true story because of how badly it affects that person's legacy?