Stardom

I also thought that Stardom was interesting, before seeing it, that is. It starts off with some funny moments, but runs too long. You don't really get into the characters so you end up not caring what happens to them. The performances were good, but the whole movie was just all over the place. Definite rental only.

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.

Really an excellent little film, it reads like an update of DARLING in that it details the vacuous inner life of a young woman whose physical appearance is her only quality but one which take her around the world as a successful model and to the very pinnacle of her profession. However it is something of a cautionary tale as her inner vacuousness means she can never appreciate what she has or analyze how she got it. Because of her looks and success and fame no one ever stops to ask her. She is a moral imbecile but that too goes unremarked upon because everybody else in her world is one too and the only thing that is noticed about a human personality is material success i.e. either you're a winner or a loser.

The ending is perfect as it plays far more realistically than the comeuppance of Darling where the heroine has achieved the status of a princess but yet she is deathly bored. The heroine of STARDOM doesn't even have that ability to self reflect. While STARDOM plays less bitterly than DARLING because it is less a poison portrait of a manipulating bitch than social criticism, a presentation of an idiotic society which finds and discards superficial heroes, the more blank the better, as a matter of course. If the heroine of STARDOM actually had an intellect, or a central nervous system, she might be regarded as a victim but she seems to have less self awareness than the replicantes of BLADE RUNNER. The ending is chilling for the more sentient audience members, others will be puzzled by what the big deal is at an apparent happy ending.

These are the people who are indirectly being criticized in STARDOM.

STARDOM is a film that has been thoroughly misunderstood.

Seen as a film about the superficiality of the modeling industry and the trivia of all media commentary, it is actually a film about the absence of a fully determining, existential self. On reflection--something most viewers have not had the patience to do--STARDOM is about the loss of moral centre in a world devoted to celebrity celebration and instant gratification. Have a look at it. Think about it. There is more to STARDOM than meets the eye!

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.