preppy-3 The story of Karen Carpenter. It's all about her rise to fame and her battle with anorexia which killed her at the far too young age of 32. It's all done using dolls to portray the people. Also they show what was going on in the world at the time and cards explaining how anorexia destroys women. This is a deadly serious short and VERY depressing. I almost was in tears as you see and hear Karen trying to fight the disease. It also portrays her family very badly. Her brother is shown as being gay and verbally abusive. Her mother comes across as a controlling witch. Harrowing but fascinating.This has supposedly banned due to unauthorized use of the Carpenters music but I saw it uncut on YouTube.

OChrist Hanleymac"s comment john-brouhard7 June 2008 There is not much I can add to Hanleymac"s comments except I hope Richard Carpenter can find a way to completely stop this mess from ever being seen ANYWHERE!!! GET, IF YOU CAN, "THE KAREN CARPENTER STORY, 1989. I think you'll find it much more informative, and that it deals with Karen's suffering more than "Superstar". It, as I recall, helped make all of us aware of the problems associated with Anorexia and other eating disorders. "The Karen Carpenter Story" doesn't free the Carpenter family from some responsibility for what happened to Karen, but it doesn't bash them either. The attempt on the part of Harold and Agnes was simply to try and protect them (Karen and Richard) from the problems of the entertainment world. If my wife, Terrie and I had been their parents, we might possibly have done things the same way. As for "Superstar, The Karen Carpenter Story", it should be sent as far away as the East is from the West.MY COMMENT ON THE ABOVE, TO ITS AUTHOR: Just 3 things, really. Because I can't restrain myself. 1) It was obvious by 2008 that SUPERSTAR would never be fully suppressed in our lifetime. Despite his obvious genetic & creative superiority to almost anyone I can think of, not even Richard Carpenter can subjugate the internet. We all know he's tried. and clearly failed, since the illicit outlaw Mattel-mockery SUPERSTAR continues to survive.2) If the commentator above had fathered Richard & Karen Carpenter (I'm leaving his wife Terrie out of this, in fairness to the woman) the siblings' DNA would have contained no talent of any kind, and so The Carpenters as we know them would never have existed. So the reviewer could never have "possibly done things the same way as" Harold and Agnes Carpenter, with regard to Richard & Karen, who would have been entirely different children and adults than the celebrities we're all so familiar with today. Specifically, the way one manipulates, emotionally and psychosexually poisons, and takes financial advantage of gifted platinum-selling international recording superstars would be worlds away from parenting long-term minimum-wage retail, food service and/or janitorial "cast members" at Downey-adjacent Disneyland. However, elementary deductive reasoning establishes beyond a statistical doubt that in the hypothetical parallel world in which the initial comment-poster is father to Richard & Karen, ironically both siblings would have perished many years ago, either through severely compromised congenital physical and/or mental disabilities, or suicide, either separately or in some type of macabre brother/sister pact.3). As anyone who's ever owned, used or seen a globe should realize, the East and West actually border each other, so the commentor's wish for where copies of Todd Haynes's SUPERSTAR should be "sent" actually expresses a desire for the film's position (be it in Haynes' manager's safety deposit-box, a website for downloading bootleg content, or in the blackest, most brainless chamber of loathing in. the reviewer's heart) to remain completely unchanged.Thank you.

tonymurphylee In 1988, filmmaker Todd Haynes released a short film about Karen Carpenter's anorexia-related death. The entire film is, essentially, a reenactment of the events with the people being played by Barbie and Ken dolls. The entire film was more from the perspective of Karen Carpenter and is probably one of the most sympathetic portraits of her plight in existence. Unfortunately, the Carpenter family was none too happy about the film's release and, with the addition of several uncleared music rights, was banned from distribution. Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story, found it's place in film viewing from the hundreds of bootlegs currently in circulation. The film's primary appeal, nowadays, is in the fact that it's such a controversial and illegal film. With the advent of the internet and of youtube, curious viewers can now watch the film online for free without having to pay for a bootleg copy with mixed quality. I have seen the film in question several times now and I consider it a fascinating first feature from a director that would later go on to receive tremendous acclaim for several of today's modern classics.There isn't a whole lot I want to say about the film, because part of the mystique of the film comes from viewing it. I do want to say, however, that it is as creative, disturbing, and interesting as everyone has heard. To say that it's a masterpiece of cult cinema is a bit of a stretch, but structurally the film is intelligent. It does have a rather slanted perspective. It's more about Karen Carpenter and her troubles. It paints a very fair portrait of her difficulties with fame, and as weird as it sounds you do feel really sorry and sad when watching her. The film's treatment of the rest of the characters, however, is a lot less fair. Richard Carpenter, her brother, is shown to be very fame-driven and rather selfish. Haynes, in fact, goes so far as to imply that his hesitations in revealing Karen's anorexia are out of fear of her outing him as a homosexual. Their mother is shown in an even more disturbing light. She is ignorant, small minded, loud, and stubborn, and comes across as very manipulative and controlling. However, the worst portrayal is of their father, who seems almost like a mockery of sitcom fathers of the late-50s. It's an ugly and spiteful portrayal, and to be perfectly honest if it were my family that Haynes was making a film about I would probably want to wring his neck. Putting aside the wrath of the script's treatment of the characters, however, it is only a reenactment and reinterpretation and I have seen far more mocking portrayals of famous people on several different made-for-TV movies (Man in the Mirror anyone?). I don't think that the Carpenter family should have taken Haynes so seriously, but I understand completely why they did. It's a well-known fact that Haynes, in order to properly portray Karen's weight problems, actually shaved off layers of plastic off of her Barbie doll avatar in order to graphically show her descent. In addition, he edits in footage of informal ads, television news audio, and graphic footage of holocaust victims. This is a much darker film than many would think.If there's anything wrong with this, it's that the impact of the film is weakened on repeat viewings. Once you get past the actual visual nature of the film, the dark tone, the graphic material of the footage, and the power of the music of the Carpenters in particular, there isn't much left to really dive into. This is really sad to me, because one thing that I can say with total confidence is that the depth Todd Haynes exhibits in terms of musical storytelling, visual power, multiple centered characters and character arcs, set pieces, genre manipulation, tone distortion, atmosphere, breaking of convention, and sound editing make his films some of the most re-watchable films in existence. Still, just because Superstar doesn't hold up does not mean that it is not worth seeing. It is a must-see film. Just don't bother watching it again, because once is enough.

nycruise-1 This movie stands as an indictment of the whole American Middle Class culture of the 70s and its associated hypocrisy.In the heart of the Age of Aquarius, Karen and Richard are selected to sell "young and innocent" as "happening" (one of the most hilarious lines in the film).The anorexia, the implied homosexuality of Richard (honey, we ALL KNEW back then...), the California Suburbian culture and the politics of the time are all woven into a vivid presentation of the sad reality of Karen's life.Despite all the "camp" associated with the film's style of presentation, the storyline is very direct and to the point: Karen, for whatever reason and despite all her success, remained anorexic.I suppose ultimately you might call this movie a "murder mystery" - since the causes of anorexia are still not known with any certainty.I think the only people who cannot find this movie involving are those who actually knew Karen. To them I say: this film, for all its irreverent humor, is still a tribute to her.