1983 film based on the fatal relationship between Playmate of the Year Dorothy Stratten and her husband/manager Paul Snider. The screenplay is based on the Village Voice article titled “Death of a Playmate” by Teresa Carpenter. It is the final film directed by Bob Fosse, best known for “Cabaret”, “Lenny” and “All that Jazz”.
“Star 80” is a near miss. At the heart of its defect is the miscasting of Mariel Hemingway. Back in ’83, much was made about Ms. Hemingway’s breast implants that she received for the role. These still don’t make her more like Stratten. Stratten’s voice and manner were different. In the film, Dorothy is portrayed as a nude model victim. She was more than that.
Most of “Star 80’s” accolades were received by co-star Eric Roberts who was nominated for a Golden Globe (Best Actor in a Drama.) He won the Boston Society of Film Critics award.
The story is told through interview segments (those from the “Village Voice” article) and flashbacks from Snider as he ponders his fate following the murder of his wife. It must be said – this is a dramatization – partly truth/partly fiction of what happened.
“Star 80” barely focuses on Dorothy’s other doomed relationship with director Peter Bogdanovich. That’s probably why the real Bogdanovich hated this movie. His character is barely there; his name changed to “Aram Nicholas”, a weak, cerebral man who is partially responsible for the end result.
The third man is Playboy founder/editor Hugh Hefner, played by Cliff Robertson. “Hef” is key to what make Paul Snider tick. Snider follows the teachings of “Playboy” as if it were the Bible. When he finally meets his idol, Hefner is turned off by Snider’s sleazy clothes and ingratiating manner. Snider is aware of it. He is aware the Playboy mansion celebrities can’t stand him. It drives him to madness that the girl he discovers is instantly accepted, while his is barely tolerated. While Dorothy’s star is on the rise, Snider is constantly pushed aside. His attempt at making money from a male strip club revue is stolen from him and eventually turned into “Chippendale’s”.
Snider gets Dorothy cast in a Grade B flick “Galaxina”, released the same week of her death.
Dorothy Stratten with John Ritter from “They All Laughed”
Meeting Dorothy at the mansion, “Aram” seeks to cast her in his latest film project “They All Laughed”. It doesn’t take long for a romance to begin.
Snider suspects she is cheating on him and hires a detective who validates his suspicions. While there are plans to win her back, things soon take a darker turn. Snider buys a shotgun for “protection”. He rants and raves to those who will listen to him that he discovered her and that Hefner and “Aram” have stolen his “Queen”.
The movie reaches its inevitable climax.
“Star 80” received mixed reviews and was not a box-office success earning only half its money back.
“They All Laughed” (1981) with the real Dorothy Stratten did worse. Distributors threatened to dump it. Bogdanovich bought it back and tried to release it himself. Not being able to compete with other film studios, he was driven to bankruptcy.
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