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You won't forget Paul Snider.
- Paul Snider
Star 80
Director: Bob Fosse
Actors:
Mariel Hemingway ... Dorothy Stratten
Eric Roberts ... Paul Snider
Cliff Robertson ... Hugh Hefner
Bob Fosse directed this amazing true story picture about the murder of Dorothy Stratten. She was a playmate of the year for playboy that Paul Snider, her eventual husband, discovered in Vancouver. He would kill her later. (no spoilers, it's in the first scenes of the film)
Yet Dorothy is not the main character of the film. It could be her killer, Paul Snider, played by Eric Roberts in an amazing performance. But it also is the whole Hollywood system, the innocence slaughterhouse. I will get back to that.
It's hard for me to understand why incredible actors like Roberts and Mickey Rourke failed to have awesome careers. They were clearly among the best of their times, and both had really unique talents. When you look at both's best films, when can you think of anyone else playing that? They bring such a unique touch.
Star 80 shows Eric Roberts range in all it's glory. He does the pimp and the conman, yes, but a lot of actors have done that well. What he brings to the table is that at all time, you can see through the character's bullshit and you know he's an insecure loser. Not through dialogue or anything that can be written in a screenplay, it's in the eyes, the smiles, the way he speaks. Awesome.
Fosse almost directs this as a tru-crime TV show, with the talking heads and Playboy picture shots between scenes. The tone is completely detached from the atrocity of the crime, there is no intent on showing how ''cruel'' or how ''atrocious'' anyone or anything is. It is shown as it is, in complete neutrality. Which makes the whole thing that much more obvious and easy to understand.
Without saying or showing anything, Fosse clearly puts some blame on Hefner and his bullshit. There is no love there. I think I read Hef sued him for libel for the movie too. Showing Hollywood as a sick and corrupting place is hardly a new subject. There must be dozens of films about those left behind by the star system. Snider found Dorothy. He wanted the fame. Early on, he tells her: "They're gonna treat us that special way, the way they treat Stars!". She hardly understands any of it all. Her talking heads interviews show that completely insane innocence. When she is asked what being famous is like, she candidly answers that it is being in an airport waiting room and having a complete stranger come up to ask for her autograph. ''That's very exciting for me'' she says. When she is asked about Hef and the Mansion, the Playboy rep is besides her and feeds her what Hef himself calls ''the speech''. Clearly this Playboy Family is some kind of cult and nothing more.
Eventually, Dorothy enters showbusiness and leaves Snider for Peter Bogdanovich (the guy who directed The Last Picture Show). Not seen in the film, but after her death, Peter Bogdanovich will mary Dorothy's sister who was 12-13 at the time of the murder. What a fucking creep.
Best scene: Friends of the couple discover in the garage somekind of S&M chair that Snider built. Dorothy doesn't understand what it's for. Snider is embarassed and Roberts makes the scene so deep and so revealing.
Worst thing : the score is terrible. Not the actual soundtrack but like the little music. Don't know how you call it.
I'll check it out.
Is the score Scarface bad?
Not as obnoxious, pretty sparse. But I never notice that stuff and I did, so it's pretty awful.
Still waiting for a wide screen release of this.
Star 80 is fantastic, perhaps my favorite film of the 80's. A perfect film. Seen it more than 20 times. Sadly, the DVD looks terrible. I seriously doubt Warner will put forth the effort to release a special edition.
^I remember you.