Bob Fosse directs Mariel Hemingway, Eric Roberts and Cliff Robertson in this true crime drama of the short lived career of a Playboy playmate destined for bigger things who was murdered.

A pretty straightforward film except for its providence. Bob Fosse doesn’t instantly leap out as the correct pair of hands for this material. Though his fascination with fame and self-destruction probably qualifies him more than most on closer inspection. Still it is The Lost Boy on his impressive filmography. And then there is also the Bogdanovich factor. Peter is played here by Roger Rees, and his character is a minor composite rather than a true representation. The failing auteur really got obsessed with the death of his girlfriend and it pretty much stalled what was left of his career while he investigated, wrote an autobiographical novel in response to this movie and started dating the victim’s younger sister. All this happens outside the actual running time but a cinema fan can’t ignore its pall over the already grim and seedy experience. Star 80 doesn’t pull many punches and the shifting timeline means any victory or pleasure Dorothy Stratten achieves is intercut with her brutal fate. And vice versa. Hemingway is convincing in the title role but Roberts is an absolute powerhouse as the dumped suitcase pimp who spirals out of control. He keeps the often voyeuristic, nasty affair valid.

7

Perfect Double Bill: Lovelace (2013)

I write regular features about live comedy for British Comedy Guide here https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/bobby_carroll/features/