lcliffor@bbncca.ARPA (Laura Frank Clifford) (11/30/83)
Star 80 is the story of late Playboy centerfold Dorothy Stratten and her husband, Paul Snider, who murdered her and himself. It stars Mariel Hemmingway as Dorothy, Eric Roberts as Paul, and Cliff Robertson as Hugh Hefner. Bob Fosse directs. This story could easily have been made into a sleasy movie, but Fosse has created a tense, wrenching film. It's more than just the story of Dorothy and Paul - it's the American dream gone awry and it's about innocence, obsession, madness and despair. Paul, who's done everything from pimping to promoting wet t-shirt contests, "discovers" Dorothy working in a fast food restaurant. She's 18, very innocent and shy. Paul hustles her off her feet by taking her to fancy restaurants and buying her lavish gifts. When he has her trust, he convinces her to let him take pictures of her. She's shy at first, but with all his attention she begins to loosen up. Before she knows what's happening to her, Paul's arranged a Playboy interview. Paul believes Dorothy's his ticket to fame and fortune. He does seem to care for her, but not in a "normal" way. Dorothy, of course, having never really had a male-female relationship before, fails to see this at first. Dorothy does surprisingly well at fitting in with the Hugh Hefner crowd and becomes one of Hef's favorites. Hefner, as played by Cliff Robertson, is a "fatherly" type. When Paul arrives on the scene, trouble begins. The sophisticated crowd sees Paul for what he is, even Dorothy does not. Paul tries to join the circle to no avail, while Dorothy's career takes off. Paul eventually believes that Dorothy is "siding with them". Terrific acting, direction, editing. Eric Roberts as Paul Snider, the sleasy conman who so desparately wants to fit in with the stars, gives one of the performances of the year. Mariel Hemmingway is surprisingly believable as the shy and innocent Dorothy. While I thought this was a terrific film, be warned - I couldn't exactly say I enjoyed it. It was like watching a bad car accident in slow motion - I felt rather drained after seeing it. The end of the film is every bit as brutal as the end of "Looking for Mr. Goodbar", although the two movies are totally dissimilar.