Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story
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Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story
1987
Drama, Biography
Short Film
43m
Karen Carpenter's battle with anorexia nervosa and the cultural influence of the Carpenters in the 70s. (imdb)
Directed by:
Todd HaynesSuperstar: The Karen Carpenter Story
1987
Drama, Biography
Short Film
43m
Your probable score
Avg Percentile 67.13% from 278 total ratings
Ratings & Reviews
(282)
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Rated 29 Jun 2008
75
44th
Really silly and yet oddly effective in its portrayal of anorexia. Worth watching just for the originality of the production.
Rated 29 Jun 2008
Rated 30 Mar 2023
90
92nd
Watching this on YouTube in some horrible bootleg quality gave it this really unsettling nightmare quality. Shocked how many Carpenter songs I know and love
Rated 30 Mar 2023
Rated 23 Feb 2007
88
88th
Brilliant in an odd way. It's a shame it's not widely available.
Rated 23 Feb 2007
Rated 20 Oct 2007
75
64th
The way Haynes makes us care for Barbie dolls is nothing short of masterful. Geniously inventive documentary.
Rated 20 Oct 2007
Rated 14 Aug 2007
70
79th
Weird at how effective this is when it is a preposterous idea at the outset.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
Rated 07 Apr 2007
45
31st
Anorexia Nervosa is....inventive, yet didactic.
Rated 07 Apr 2007
Rated 06 Jan 2010
85
90th
The hokey parodies of documentary films and 70's pop psychology seemed annoying at first, but in the long run they probably helped to humanize these inhuman set pieces. The treatment of the Barbie doll as actor gimmick in this film goes so far beyond mere restraint -- and yet never dives fully headfirst into pure kitsch -- that it almost has to be seen to be believed.
Rated 06 Jan 2010
Rated 02 Oct 2023
68
22nd
A sincere effort with some powerful moments, but on the whole it left me somewhat underwhelmed - and convinced that if it weren't legally unavailable, it would have far less of a reputation.
Rated 02 Oct 2023
Rated 02 Sep 2009
80
55th
Perfect dolls and perfect music showing an imperfect story. Watch the 'trailer'
Rated 02 Sep 2009
Rated 29 Oct 2018
7
94th
"i guess i'm just beginning to realise that it isn't something good."
Rated 29 Oct 2018
Rated 18 Oct 2018
88
92nd
despite or perhaps because of how incredibly strange it is, it manages to be a touching portrait of Karen Carpenter
Rated 18 Oct 2018
Rated 28 Jun 2012
2
30th
I found it silly at points when it wasn't trying to be... though, I can see why people would like this.
Rated 28 Jun 2012
Rated 14 Aug 2007
89
92nd
Almost too campy to stomach, but hilarious and oddly moving in its own way.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
Rated 24 May 2013
5
91st
A truly singular combination of biopic, experimental film, social critique, cautionary tale, documentary, and even musical. It's a heady mixture that sets this film far apart from most of its ilk. The idea to have Karen and her peers portrayed by Barbie dolls is brilliant on at least a couple of levels, and the grotesque manner in which Haynes chips away at her appearance surprisingly effective at demonstrating the horrors of anorexia.
Rated 24 May 2013
Rated 18 Feb 2015
95
93rd
Haynes reappropriates the boilerplate made-for-TV biopic, Barbie dolls, the Holocaust, the suburbs, 50s kitsch and cheesy 70s pop music into a tragic, utterly moving critique of the pressures society places on women, the vicious nature of fame and American consumer culture at large. In some ways, it's the best of what Haynes accomplishes in his wonderful later films rolled into a stunning 43-minute opus, yet unique enough to completely stand on its own. A masterpiece of cinematic construction.
Rated 18 Feb 2015
Rated 29 Apr 2013
83
72nd
A good short film. While it does make the sympathy derive from the terrible behaviour of the Carpenter family - which lessens the tragedy a little - it's a very well-edited and disturbing piece, which says a lot for a film made with Barbie dolls. Very campy but very good - and affecting.
Rated 29 Apr 2013
Rated 05 Sep 2012
71
70th
To call a Todd Haynes film "gimmicky" is almost redundant. The strength of this film is that he uses the gimmick toward creating genuine pathos as well as an interesting juxtaposition of The Carpenter's and the loss of innocence of America in the 1970s (also helping to underscore the complexly ironic sadness of their music).
Rated 05 Sep 2012
Rated 25 Jun 2007
50
33rd
Ugly wish-fulfillment fantasy for gay people who delight in the agony of clean-living middle-class heterosexual folks. Sort of how normal people watch offal like "Dallas" or "Dynasty" to watch rich people suffer
Rated 25 Jun 2007
Rated 16 Apr 2013
80
68th
Exploring the life of Karen Carpenter, and more importantly (and interestingly) the issue of anorexia, with all the characters played by barbie dolls. Ranks as one of the more ludicrous ideas I've heard for a film yet the end result is surprisingly effective and makes for a dark and haunting look at eating disorders.
Rated 16 Apr 2013
Rated 02 Sep 2011
46
5th
Unevenly switches between student art film and one of those silly educational videos you saw in high school on a crummy VHS which made your heart lift when you saw the TV being wheeled into the classroom and you get to waste even more class time by having to find the right cords to plug in and carefully resuscitating the tape to make it play with any flickering pictures or wobbly sounds. But that nostalgia doesn't do much to stop this cheesy film not achieve the seriousness and education it need
Rated 02 Sep 2011
Rated 24 Oct 2012
87
94th
The use of Barbie dolls was brilliant and I can't imagine the film being anywhere near as effective with live actors. The human tragedy combined with top notch experimental filmmaking. Well worth the 45 minutes.
Rated 24 Oct 2012
Rated 17 Dec 2014
90
88th
It finally occurred to me that I could just go find this on YouTube and thwart Richard Carpenter's cease-and-desist ruling. The version I saw was super grainy but the central conceit works amazingly well and I was suprisingly moved by the ending. The sound collage of Karen's voice on several Carpenters tracks that appears a few times was remarkably haunting.
Rated 17 Dec 2014
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Directed by:
Todd HaynesCollections
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