Stardom

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background="041d2c00dvldtc.png"> <div> <B>Home Pages For</B></div> <div> <B>                </B><A HREF="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/"><U><B>Movies</B></U></A></div> <div> <B>                    </B><A HREF="http://www.newbookdiscounts.com/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.newbookdiscounts.com/"><U><B>Books</B></U></A></div> <div> <B>                       </B><A HREF="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/travelforless/id364.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/travelfor"><U><B>Travel</B></U></A></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <A HREF="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/travelforless/id361.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/travelfor"><U><B>Great Web Sites</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <B><IMG SRC="76096640.jpg" border=0 width="150" height="100" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> <div> <B>Dan Aykroyd</B></div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" height=400 BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <div> Stardom</div> <div> <B> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="516" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 65 WIDTH="510"><div>  <a href="http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=9jVMwncE8Ds&offerid=19336.10000003&type=4&subid=0"><IMG alt="Sam Academy" border=0 src="http://www.samscd.com/Images/banners/academy_3loop_468x60.gif"></a><IMG border=0 width=1 height=1 src="http://ad.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/show?id=9jVMwncE8Ds&bids=19336.10000003&type=4&subid=0">  </div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></B></div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="579" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 20 WIDTH="575"><div> <B>Stardom</B> **(R)</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="575"><div> Reviewed By George O. Singleton</div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="549" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 23 WIDTH="545"><div> Celebrities forget there is always a camera</div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="580" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="269"><div> Tina : Jessica Pare</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="304"><div> Barry: Dan Aykroyd</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="269"><div> Renny: Thomas Gibson</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="304"><div> Blaine: Frank Langella</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="269"><div> Toni: Camilla Rutherford</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="304"><div> Bruce: Robert Lepage</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="269"><div> Philippe: Charles Berling</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="304"><div> Director: Denys Arcand </div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> <B>30 Second Bottom Line</B>: A model just out of high school moves quickly from small local jobs to big ones in Paris and around the world. We follow her notoriety over a few years and share her "15 minutes of fame". We glimpse the behind the scenes life of being a celebrity, which is often not glamorous. </div> <bR> <div> <B>Story Line:</B> Tina (Jessica Pare) has a distorted view of men because her father walked out on the family when she was 14. The star player on a small town hockey team in Ontario, Tina's photographed as much for her flash on the ice, as for the flash of her smile. She comes to the attention of a modeling agency, and her career takes off.</div> <bR> <div> Shot in mockumentary style, we are made to feel as if we are looking at a documentary, complete with an off-camera voice. Using this format, we are given an entrée to the fashion industry.  </div> <bR> <div> Tina likes older men and she seems to go from one relationship to another with relative ease. When she's not making the decision to pursue the affair, guys tend to choose her because she is a trophy or a ticket to where they want to go. We are told "The world always needs another blond, even if only on the inside."</div> <bR> <div> Tina's agent, Renny (Thomas Gibson), never lets us forget that she is a business. He knows that when the wrinkles show or she becomes overexposed, she will be replaced. Tina's first relationship is with a well-known photographer, Bruce (Robert Lepage), who continues to chronicle her life even after the affair ends. Then there's an obsessive restaurant owner, Barry (Dan Aykroyd), and soon after that ends she is ready to marry someone her grandfather's age, Canadian ambassador Blaine (Frank Langella).  All these dalliances are lived out before the camera's lens. Eventually Tina returns to her hometown in Ontario and we are left to wonder "Is she better off than she was four years before?"…the favorite political slogan that presidential candidates like to ask the electorate. </div> <bR> <div> <B>Tell Me More About It</B>: <I>Stardom</I> could have been more with less. A little less running time, but more importantly less jumping around from one device to another. There were a few MTV type segments for the purpose of showing that Tina could be forgotten as quickly as she was discovered, which added nothing to the story. Tina appears often on talk shows, telling more than she should. We know that talk show hosts try to get you to say things you should not, but most celebrities smart enough to get invited to these shows have the moxie to know which topics to avoid. </div> <bR> <div> Like the recent film <I>Beautiful, Stardom</I> addresses the issues of physical beauty and celebrity, but much more effectively. Pare has the appealing look of a younger Gwyneth Paltrow, and without a doubt, carries the film along with strong performances by Aykroyd and Langella. </div> <bR> <div> Barry is a well-known, <I>married,</I> restaurateur in Ontario who moves to NYC to be with Tina. He opens a restaurant there, which is super hot at first, then fades fast once people have to pay for their meals. Considerable time is spent making the point that celebrities like to be seen at the new hot spots so they are considered trend -setters and because it makes them feel important.</div> <bR> <div> While the point is made that fame is fleeting, it detracts from the real focus of the film, which is the treatment of young women. We are told that beauty opens doors and while people claim they want regular folks on magazine covers, surveys show that is really not the case. Nudity is a woman's last weapon to use to gain her fame. Some of the spreads in <I>Playboy Magazine</I> launch careers, but the ones that really sell the magazine are those pictures of women who have a <I>name</I> (often for doing something wrong) and who are willing to show it all. It's get the money now or never. </div> <bR> <div> The public enjoys celebrities be they entertainers, politicians, kings, princes or queens. Through them the common person can be made to feel special. Some celebrities are wise enough to live a life that is not constantly in the limelight, who use their good fortune to their advantage, and society's. Some coach their kids sports teams; drive in car pools; and do their own grocery shopping. Those who only ride in limousines and live the star treatment 24/7, are doomed to be worse off with the money and fame than if they'd been a beautician or delivered packages for UPS. The real lesson to be learned about beauty is not from the celebrities but from those much closer to us.</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="591" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="587"><div> R (sex; spousal abuse; language)</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="587"><div> George O. Singleton © 2000</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="587"><div> <A HREF="mailto:Reelmoviec@aol.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:Reelmoviec@aol.com"><U><U>George@reelmoviecritic.com</U></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> Mini Filmography </div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="579" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="286"><div> Jessica Pare: <I>Debut film</I></div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="286"><div> Dan Aykroyd: <I>Ghostbusters</I></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 ><NOBR><div> Frank Langella: <I>The Ninth Gate</I></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> Thomas Gibson: <I>Far and Away</I></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 38 WIDTH="286"><div> Denys Arcand: <I>Love and Human Remains</I> </div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="286"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="38" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="286" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>