The Karen Carpenter Story

There have been a lot of opinions expressed as to the crux of Karen's problems. Certainly the eating disorder was a result and not a cause of the talented singer's anxiety.

The "controlling mother," need for romantic love, and career stresses all undoubtedly played a part. However, my feeling is that the act of moving Karen from her drums to the center stage mike was the real trigger.

The young musician felt comfortable and natural behind the drums. It was where she really belonged, despite professional dictates. A drummer's always a drummer at heart, sitting behind those traps and wielding those sticks. Her singing emanated from and was intertwined with the drumming, and not an isolated entity.

The move to center stage and abandoning her trap set was the beginning of Karen's downfall. The move robbed her of her base, grounding and natural habitat. It threw off her balance, and began her downward spiral to a rash of personal problems.

Seems like a small thing, yet my feeling is that had Karen remained behind those drums singing her songs, she might still be with us today.

The TV movie includes lots of great Carpenter hits, and includes the contribution of her protégé brother, Richard, who currently (in 2006) is alive and doing well in California.

Karen Carpenter had a singing voice that only comes along in the world every few decades. It was instantly recognizable. She had a full three octaves of range, with the lower two of those possessing a rich timbre and an uncanny ability for a very soothing slow-vibrato (my term).

Karen's problems were partly caused by her desire to be accepted and were intensely driven by her stage-demon of a mother, Agnes Carpenter. The problems perpetuated because her family lived in denial that a problem existed. They refused outside help until the damage to Karen's heart from her abuse of ipecac (which she eventually discontinued because she feared that it would damage her vocal cords) was irreversible.

The acting in the movie is good, and the songs are well-mixed, but it takes unreasonable liberties with reality. Over half of the scenes that Barry Morrow wrote were rejected by the family (mainly by Agnes Carpenter), who didn't want any negativity. It drove Morrow to the point where he refused to work on the movie any longer. His replacement had the same problem, and a third writer was brought in to finish. The whole thing is contrived, and to anybody who knew the actual situation, the movie has very little to do with how things really were.

Anybody who wants a realistic view of how things were should read the book "Little Girl Blue" by Randy Schmidt, which offers an objective view.

I've never usually been emotional at movies, but this one requires a box of Kleenex standing by. It is not hard to be carried back to the time when the Carpenters' were at the top of their profession, cranking out hit after hit like a music factory. They had a perfect combination, Richard's tremendous musical genius and Karen's angelic voice. As I watched the story unfold, I found myself remembering this wonderful time and the thought crossed my mind, how many people fell in love listening to the Carpenters' music. How many prom-nights was "close to you" danced to cheek to cheek, and how many wedding ceremonies used "We've only Just Begun" as the wedding dance? That was a special time, even at a time when hard rock and heavy metal were beginning to make a big splash on the music scene, The Carpenters' did not suffer for there share of the music market in the 70's was nothing less than staggering. Anyway, the movie touches on all the technical plus gives you their personal side of the lives of these two icons, and the demons they dealt with, Richard successfully, Karen, tragically. At least, Karen will always be immortal through the legacy of music left behind, and as I've seen it written at her graveside, "A star on earth, A star in heaven."

Sadly, I didn't appreciate the Carprenters until after Karen's death--young, stupid, inexperienced in romantic relationships, I guess, so lacking in taste! Also, hadn't had the classical vocal training I've since accrued, so couldn't have remarked earlier on what an exquisite voice we had the privilege to know. As a blind viewer, I can't, obviously, comment on the visuals, but Gibb was, in terms of speaking voice, remarkably similar to Karen (check out YouTube interviews)--this from someone who has "made a career" out of discerning between voices--Cynthia was only slightly higher, and had a very similar timbre. I would love to either read the screen play, or find an audio-described version that would catch me up on the visual aspects. I will say that a director/producer is only as good as the material provided--the family kept a lot of details hidden (typical of eating-disorder families not in recovery, especially then), and so, we don't have a chance for an accurate picture, and ironically, the fact that it skims over much or the inward aspects of anorexia is similar to how it is experienced until recovery: only the surface aspects are evident, until the person gets into therapy and uncovers what the illness is saying. And, back then, we knew so little about anorexia, so I don't find much fault in how it was presented here--we only had two hours (less, accounting for the time used up by commercials). If you go online, you can find some DVDs of the movie. I do hope that a more thorough and lengthier biopic will emerge after Richard has passed (preferably, before--if he can come to acknowledge that what their family has gone through is not shameful or terribly unique and deserves to be told truthfully, to assist others so they won't meet the same fate as his sister).

Every time I hear Karen Carpenter's voice, there is that old familiar feeling of 70's blues. What an overwhelmingly beautiful and mature voice she had. Cynthia Gibb cast in the title role does a good job, however, I thought Karen Allen would have been a better choice. This is a tearjerker movie that does a fine job of presenting the professional careers of Karen and Richard but also the personal struggles that Karen dealt with and her disease. The recording sessions in Herp Albert's studio are very nicely done. However Karen Carpenter turned out, there was a time when she was very special and brought a great deal joy to her fans and music lovers. Even if you weren't a Carpenter's fan this is a nice story that depicts how a great talent can fall victim to the pressures of society.