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Jessica Paré,
Jessica Paré,
Dan Aykroyd,
more...
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Denys Arcand,
Denys Arcand
see all cast/crew...
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: Universal Studios
: Mockumentary, SNL Alums, Mockumentaries, Canada
: 103 min.
: English, French
: English
see additional details...
This title is currently out of print.
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French Canadian director Denys Arcand pushes the boundaries of the mockumentary with Stardom, the tale of a fictional neophyte supermodel (Jessica Pare) told entirely through clips of her appearances on talk shows, television interviews, and documentaries. Originally titled 15 Moments, Stardom begins its portrait at a women's hockey game in the nether regions of Ontario, Canada. When the team's formidable teenage forward Tina (Pare) pulls her helmet off, letting her brunette tresses fly, a bystander snaps a photo, and Tina soon becomes the buzz at the country's hottest fashion houses. Her rise through the industry, however, is plagued by advances from older men with sundry motives: a smitten French photographer (Charles Berling), a smarmy entrepreneur (Dan Aykroyd), the Canadian Ambassador to the U.N. (Frank Langella), and a slick promoter (Thomas Gibson, the latter half of TV's Dharma and Greg). Stardom was the closing film at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival, marking the first time in over 50 years that a Canadian production was chosen for such an honor; it would go on to open the 2000 Toronto International Film Festival before its theatrical premiere. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
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| Rise & Fall---Done Fast & Sharp
by talltale
May 23, 2006 - 8:32 PM PDT
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1 out of 3 members found this review helpful
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STARDOM may be my favorite of Denys Arcand's films: quick, insightful and enormously funny. I thought this six years ago when I first saw the film, and now, viewing it again, it holds up better than I could have imagined. The biggest change in the world from then till now is the growth of the web, which just begins to figure in the film's look at how the media creates, uses, changes and controls our lives--weaving in and around politics, economics, entertainment, public and private lives as though, while everything matters, nothing matters much.
Viewers seem shocked and disappointed that the movie says nothing new. Yet it bears a message worth repeating and repeating until we finally get it--and Arcand repeats it better, more economically and wittier than most, as he takes his sweet and very beautiful heroine from just a girl to superstar to has-been in barely 100 minutes.
Along the way, you'll encounter photographers, news hounds, boyfriends, girlfriends, and maybe most especially Frank Langella giving one of his most enjoyable, over-the-top performances. But there are many fine actors here, including Francois Berleand, Dan Aykroyd, Charles Berling, Thomas Gibson and Robert Lepage. Canada does it again--and, as usual, gets little or no credit. |
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GreenCine Member Rating
(Average 5.87)
23 Votes
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