Stardom (2000)

Director:

Denys Arcand

Writers:

Denys Arcand (written by) and
Jacob Potashnik (written by)

Release Date:

13 October 2000 (Canada)

Genre:

Drama | Comedy

Plot:

A young girl is plucked from small-town obscurity and thrust into the spotlight of the glamorous world of super-models.

Plot Keywords:

Montréal | Photographer | Fashion | Fame | Animal Rights

Awards:

2 wins & 7 nominations

Cast

Jessica Paré	...	Tina Menzhal
Victoria Snow	...	Ann Menzhal, Tina's Mother
Jessica Mackenzie	...	Tina's Sister
Macha Grenon	...	Model Agency Owner
Joanne Vannicola	...	Rosie
Charles Berling	...	Philippe Gascon
Sophie Lorain	...	Italasia Reporter
Dan Aykroyd	...	Barry Levine
Gregory Calpakis	...	Steve Bourque
Patrick Huard	...	Montreal Talkshow Host
Maggie Steed	...	British Fashion Reporter
Paul Reynolds	...	Nigel Pope
Camilla Rutherford	...	Toni Steward
Patrick Poivre d'Arvor	...	French TV Anchorman
Robert Lepage	...	Bruce Taylor

Also Known As:

15 Moments (Canada: English title)
Stardom (France)
Stardom - Le culte de la célébrité (Canada: French title)

MPAA:

Rated R for language and sexual content.

Runtime:

100 min | Argentina:105 min (Mar del Plata Film Festival)

Country:

France | Canada

Language:

English | French

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Certification:

Canada:14A | Iceland:12 | USA:TV-MA (cable rating) | Argentina:16 | France:U | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Cornwall, Ontario, Canada

Company:

Alliance Atlantis Communications

Goofs:

Continuity: When Tina leaves the hospital, her left arm is in a sling. In subsequent scenes, her right arm is in the sling.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Best! Movies! Ever!: Fashion (#1.22)" (2007)

Biting satire with a beautiful face

In the vein of "This is Spinal Tap" and the other mocumentary films out there, "Stardom" manages to take shots at almost every aspect of celebrity, Canadian-ness, high-fashion and a lot more. I found this one while looking for something to watch on a slow Friday night, "Third Watch" having gone on summer hiatus. I have always liked Akroyd and the plot looked like fun. Of course, had I seen a picture of Jessica Paré, I wouldn't have needed anything more. She looks very much like Liv Tyler, minus the famous and luscious Tyler lips. Paré's character, Tina Menzhal, is the epitome of a beautiful tomboy -- yeah, as one viewer said she looks too pretty to be a trade-school hockey player; she has all her teeth -- but anomalies do exist.

There are some slow moments, but the movie mostly moves along well, blending the footage shot by the obsessive film maker, (played so well by Robert Lepage) -- mostly in B&W -- with stuff from other points of view. It isn't a deep character study -- although we do get to see a bit of what goes into some of the main characters -- but it is a very funny movie. I won't spoil it, but Frank Langella has one scene which represents what a lot of people might want to say, and I bet he enjoyed it. He, Akroyd, Gibson and the other supporting actors do great work. In fact it is some of the best work I've seen Akroyd do since the high days of SNL.

I've never seen Denys Arcand's work before -- and understand this is atypical -- but don't think he has anything to be ashamed of. This is a well made, biting but very funny satire of fame, the media and life in our modern world. Highly recommended at 7.5 out of 10. Really.