Star 80 (1983)
Directed by Bob Fosse
Written by Teresa Carpenter and Bob Fosse

Star 80 has a lot more appeal than it probably should, and I'm not sure exactly how much of it is the good kind of appeal. Bob Fosse's take on the murder of Dorothy Stratten by her husband/manager Paul Snider is like a Lifetime attempt to do Boogie Nights … kind of lurid and quite watchable, but ultimately just based-on-a-true-story junk food.

Come to think of it, the same story was done as a TV movie (Death of a Centerfold, with Jamie Lee Curtis), which begs the question: Why isn't Star 80 more deliciously scandalous and shocking?

Eric Roberts delivers a performance at the extreme upper-limit of impressiveness, occasionally pushing it into pure camp, but mostly hitting the mark. Mariel Hemingway is memorable as Stratten, though it's hard to tell if her vacancy and lack of personality is intentional or just the result of bad acting.

So it is with much of Star 80. Fosse makes some dubious choices, such as including faux-documentary "interview" segments to bolster the "realism" of the story … these come off much like the monologues in A Chorus Line, very stagey and contrived. And his characterizations don't feel all that fleshed out: Snider is the only multidimensional person in the film, so you don't feel any sense of real loss when he murders Stratten.

Also, Stratten's acting career is given a generous revision here, implying a sense of potential that is barely arguable. And given that this is a tale of jealousy, egomania, and murder set in 1980 Hollywood, involving Playboy Playmates and Hollywood players, you'd think there would be much more degeneracy and lunatic behavior … but there is no drug use to be seen, and for the most part, no cursing either!

On the other hand, you have Cliff Robertson doing a spot-on Hugh Hefner, and the perverse attraction of watching Roberts and Hemingway play out these roles that are ultimately more tame than some of the shit they went through personally.

It's not a very good film, but there's still a lot to enjoy about Star 80. I'm only frustrated that I still can't put my finger on whether it's closer in spirit to Boogie Nights or Mommie Dearest.

Review by Mona Lockett