Glucedee It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

BelSports This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Philippa All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Geraldine The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

dungeonstudio I have to hand it to Bob Fosse for immortalizing not only Dorothy Stratten, but Lenny Bruce as well. (In Bob's other great movie 'Lenny' with Dustin Hoffman) What is it about these two people that attracted the intense attention of a choreographer like Fosse? In a word, I'd say it was 'rhythm'. Both these people went 'out of sync' with their otherwise preordained lives. Lenny decided to 'go blue' with his comedic material, and become the whipping boy for 'free speech'. While Dorothy was humble about her beauty, but saw the empowering opportunities it could give her. And interesting that Lenny was praised by the public for his comedic boldness, but hated by 'the system' of righteous puritanical authorities and outlets. Whereas Dorothy was scrutinized for her Playboy posing, but in her defense of it, 'the system' of entertainment pros and directors saw great potential in her. And as soon as the public realized 'Hey, these people are dancing to a different beat - but they're good at it' - they're sadly removed from the chorus line. And interesting that Lenny began to take himself and his charges way too seriously, while Dorothy and her rising success wasn't taken seriously enough by herself. Had Lenny been a little more 'laissez-faire' with the charges and controversy he caused, he may have lived a long and successful life? Had Dorothy taken heed to Hef's and others advice that she'd be better off without Paul, she too may have had a long and successful life? Either way, I don't think either died in vane. And again, kudos to Bob for putting these otherwise less than favorable and forgettable people as the unwitting pioneers that they were. Not that Lenny Bruce single handed made comedy 'sleazy'. Or that Dorothy Stratten innocently made pornography 'respectable'. But there are those today that would ignorantly say 'they got what they deserved'. And it's the grace of these two movies of Bob's to show how ultimately wrong they really are.

zuhairvazir Over the weekend I found myself rummaging through my collection - once again - for a Bob Fosse flick and voila, two films popped out as if God Himself gave the DVDs a push from below.This brilliant film is the story of a Playboy Centerfold intricately shown to us by veteran director Bob Fosse. Dorothy Stratten, a naive, young, wholesome beauty from Vancouver, British Columbia is discovered by a small time night-club promoter and part time pimp, Paul Snider. They move in together and he takes pictures of her to send to Playboy. Fosse's direction is tenfold. Here we see the libertine culture in a direct collision course with greed and the lust to be 'someone'. Snider wants to be known as Stratten's manager and husband (yes, they get married much to Hefner's dislike) more than anything in the world. He wants to buy new cars and clothes with her money, hang out with the stars at 'The Mansion' and above all get comforted by the feeling that he owns Stratten. Look in his eyes when he is rejected by high society. That look deserves all the awards in the world.Fosse does not confuse us or makes us ask questions. We see Snider, a role that is performed almost perfectly by the great Eric Roberts, throwing tantrums; admiring himself in the mirror and soaked with jealousy at many points throughout the film. The year after this film was made, Roberts went on to team with Mickey Rourke to make one of the finest films to come out of Hollywood, 'The Pope of Greenwich Village (1984)'.There is a sense of chaos around snider, which Roberts holds on to with filial piety throughout the film. He drives the film with his over-the- top dress sense, his brilliant facial expressions and his entire body movement, which if studied carefully gives away a lot about the character. He emphasizes each word he speaks and if we didn't know who he was, even we would fall for the smooth talking erstwhile pimp. However, we know who he is; history tells us who he is therefore from the word go (when they meet) the screen is brimming with tension and discomfort. Mariel Hemingway throws in a lovely performance herself, albeit a tad- bit forlorn, even when she's having fun - but you see the conflict is right there. Stratten cannot enjoy the fame under Snider's omnipresent shadow. We see the rise and then the descent, as if in fast forward of a promising young, voluptuous woman and who, towards the end starts getting calls from Hollywood and even gets small parts in 'Buck Rogers' and is picked by Peter Bogdanovich for his new movie. Overall, the film packs a punch and is quite unpleasant to watch, specially when you know how it ends.The orton set design and immaculate camera work give the film an edge over other genre specials, and then there is Eric Roberts who is currently consigned to oblivion, but then showbiz is brutal, see what it did to him.Great film and a must watch.

Lechuguilla Consider this film concept. An ordinary young man with big dreams discovers a beautiful young woman working as an order-taker in a burger joint. He instantly sees her glamor potential. He convinces her that she could be a Playboy model. They leave their hometown and move to Hollywood. He becomes her manager.Then later, Hollywood in general, and Hugh Hefner in particular, accept the young woman, but want nothing to do with the young man. But that's not consistent with the young man's dream of becoming a flashy Hollywood big shot. He feels slighted, rejected. And "they" have taken his love away from him. The result is tragic.That's the underlying premise of "Star 80", the true-life story of the young woman, Playboy model Dorothy Stratten (Mariel Hemingway), and the young man, Paul Snider (Eric Roberts). Writer/Director Bob Fosse tells the story from the POV of Snider. And the film's structure consists of one long flashback, from the final sequence. Various characters along the way offer their take on Stratten and Snider.The film portrays Stratten as innocent, naïve, shy, polite, confused, overly trusting, and a tad vacuous. Snider, part-time photographer and small-time huckster, comes across initially as a jerk. Oily and flashy-looking, he ingratiates himself to Hefner (Cliff Robertson) and other Hollywood insiders. But it doesn't work. Eventually, his possessiveness of Stratten and jealousy of her insider connections, combined with Hollywood's rejection of him, leave him emotionally unbalanced, desperate, and ultimately psychotic.The film's production values are fine. Eric Roberts, with his very large mouth, not only physically resembles the real Paul Snider, but also exudes behavior and an inner sense of self, consistent with what we would expect of Snider. Mariel Hemingway gives a fine performance as Stratten. I thought Robertson's performance as Hefner was a little flat.While the film is mostly a character study of Stratten and Snider, it also gives us a glimpse into a ruthless and cruel Tinseltown, where dreams can easily morph into nightmares. To an outsider wanting in, the best advice is ... approach the beast with distrust and caution.

Isaac5855 STAR 80 is Bob Fosse's dark recreation of the relationship between PLAYBOY centerfold/starlet Dorothy Stratten and her Svengali/husband Paul Snider, who ended up murdering her out of resentment, bitterness, and jealousy. Fosse's unique eye with a camera lends itself quite admirably to this dark tale about the teenage dairy queen employee (Mariel Hemingway) who meets a charismatic but sleazy player named Paul Snider (Eric Roberts)and according to this screenplay, somehow manages to get her to let him be her date for her senior prom and pose nude for pictures in the privacy of his bedroom, which he ends up submitting to PLAYBOY and from there becomes her manager as he takes her from Vancouver to Hollywood, but as Dorothy becomes famous, she clearly doesn't need Paul in her life and the more she attempts to wrest herself from his iron grip, the more unhinged he becomes. The fact that this story is a true one just makes it all the more depressing to watch and Fosse has a way of giving the whole film a very voyeuristic feel...as if we're watching private scenes we are not supposed to see. Roberts gives the performance of his career as the slimy Snider, the player who is in denial about what a loser he truly is and how Dorothy comes to not need him anymore, which he will have none of. Roberts is electrifying here, in a performance that should have earned him an Oscar nomination and Mariel Hemingway is lovely and fragile as the tragic Dorothy, caught in a web she can't escape from. Cliff Robertson is effective as Hugh Hefner and 60's starlet Carroll Baker is surprisingly good as Dorothy's mother. Roger Rees plays Aram Nicholas, the movie director Dorothy becomes involved with. This is really a thinly disguised Peter Bogdanovich, whom Dorothy had a relationship with. This is a dark and sobering drama, made all the more harrowing because it's a true story, masterfully directed by Bob Fosse.