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"'Superstar'
Dimly Lit"
by Scott Mantz
"Superstar"
Molly Shannon, Will Ferrell
Directed by Bruce McCulloch
You've got to
admire producer Lorne Michaels. His "Saturday Night Live" is celebrating
it's 25th anniversary and is one of the longest running shows in
television history. Even when it was at its creative worst, he always
found ways to reinvigorate the show with fresh talent and funny
skits. However, when it comes to his movie career, he must be living
by the saying "If you throw enough crap against the wall, some of
it's gonna stick". Fortunately, some of it has. "The Blues Brothers"
and "Wayne's World" were phenominal successes, but for every "Wayne's
World" there have been about ten "It's Pat"'s.
Michaels returns
to the SNL skit-cannon to mercilessly stretch out another so-so
skit into a 90 minute film. The result is not as bad as you'd expect.
While Mary Katherine Gallagher is no Wayne or Elwood Blues, her
"Superstar" contains a few good laughs and an optimitsic spirit
that makes it worth your while (if you've got nothing better to
do and you see it as a matinee!).
Uptight and
nerdy Catholic schoolgirl Mary Katherine Gallagher (Molly Shannon)
lives her life in a fantasy. Growing up influenced by the pop culture
generation, she's convinced that nothing is more important than
being a superstar. She's not very popular in school, so she can
only dream about sharing a passionate kiss with the oh-so-popular
big man on campus (Will Ferrell). Since he's already dating the
hottest (and bitchiest) girl in school, Mary Katherine decides to
enter the school talent contest to impress her man and win the grand
prize--a trip to Hollywood where she can be an extra in a film with
"positive moral values".
There are some
pretty goofy moments here, but the movie looks like it was just
thrown together as a quickie to capitalize on SNL's anniversary.
On three seperate occasions I noticed the boom mike visible at the
top of the screen, and the special effects (yes, there are special
effects in this film) are sloppy. But I digress. These are minor
quibbles, and since this is not a Scorsese movie, who really cares?
All we're looking for is a few good laughs. While there are a some,
most of the humor is the same old slapstick we've seen before.
The biggest
strength, of course, is Molly Shannon, who does a decent job of
making Mary Katherine seem pathetic and sympathetic at the same
time. When you're not laughing at her as she makes a fool out of
herself, you're actually rooting for her. She has real dreams, and
there's no reason why she can't go for it all. Will Ferrell is mildly
funny as the target of her obsession, but when his character takes
on biblical proportions in Mary's dreams, he comes up short and
and the jokes fall flat.
I dread what's
up Michael's sleeve for his next SNL skit-turned movie ("Driving
Miss Toonces" maybe?). Call me crazy, but I actually found something
positive in "Superstar". For anyone under 30, there's more here
than meets the eye. Since the very fabric of our generation has
been based on what we've seen on TV, it makes perfect sense that
working in Hollywood would seem glamorous (until you've actually
done it). With only a few select friends to turn to in times of
need, who can blame Gallagher for turning inward and setting her
sights on the stars? Her passion and drive to be all that she can
be is truly admirable and makes her star shine above the rest.
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