Starstruck

Starstruck

Every year, thousands travel to Hollywood with dreams of making it in the movies, ignoring the painful reality that most will fail miserably. Similarly, every year, hundreds of malcontents write "insider" Hollywood satires, despite the fact that most, if made, will suck to high heaven and reveal far more about the filmmakers' smug incompetence than the movie industry. Starstruck, filmed under the significantly less Blockbuster-friendly title Starfucker, serves as a sadly typical example of the genre, taking on such familiar targets as greedy agents, starlet bimbos, and drug-addled actors with all the freshness of an episode of Three's Company. Jamie Kennedy stars as a swishy, pathetic temp and aspiring screenwriter who meets a washed-up former teen star (Loren Dean) at a Hollywood party and proceeds to form a deeply unhealthy relationship with him. Hollywood spoofs have been around for about as long as Hollywood itself, and by now, just about everyone who isn't a Luddite should be familiar with their staples, from flaky actors to scheming producers to horny underage groupies. Perhaps part of the reason films like Starstruck keep getting made is because they flatter their audience, enabling anyone who has picked up a copy of Movieline within the past few years or caught an episode of Action to feel like a bona fide Hollywood insider. But even if Starstruck weren't dealing in such fruitless, tired subject matter, it still wouldn't work. Its leads are smug, obnoxious, slap-worthy cretins, and with the possible exception of a wry Clarence Williams III as Kennedy's incompetent lawyer, no one seems to have any idea what to do with the material.

 
Join the discussion...