Starstruck

I saw this during the Australian wave of films. I was being inundated on sort of dark pieces and this was an eye opener to say the least. I hadn't expected such a bright and lively piece. This is a wonderful piece of work. Everything fits. The cast is perfect. Each so in tune with their roles, each ringing true in dialogue and action. The music is both stylistically correct and true to the genre. Many times tunes written for movies that are rock or pop oriented turn out to be lame, musically incorrect, or both. This is not the case here.

Gillian Armstrong shows an airy touch, while still maintaining that solid control of characters and visually precise scene setup she has demonstrated in other films, such as "My Brilliant Career" and the sadly overlooked "Oscar and Lucinda". All in all this is an enjoyable experience. Nothing earthshattering or profound but good workmanship and totally fun.

i had the pleasure of seeing this as a child when living in Australia, and now as an adult i tracked the film down on DVD. 25 years of rose-tinted looking back to it was astute, as watching it again now was just as joyous as watching it back then.

the story of the film, in short, is that of an aspiring singer and her ambitious cousin and their attempts to break out of the mundane suburban life and hit the big time. desperate times, to a degree, expedite the need to hit the big time, but this under no circumstances stops them having fun along the way! Jo Kennedy is fantastic in the lead, and what a voice. rare is it that you get someone capable of singing and acting, and here she is for all the world to see. fans of 80's new wave / new romantic music will love her singing style, and it's difficult not to tap your feet and sing along with it all. the rest of the cast is equally impressive, in particular the young lad playing cousin Angus.

Star Struck is an eloquent, fun and enjoyable way to spend 90 or so minutes of your time. along with the great soundtrack, you get as many bitter sweet moments as you do outright funny ones, and you would have to work very hard to dislike it.

I have not seen Starstruck since it's original run in the theaters but I love this movie and hope to see it again soon. I was really into new wave music at the time, especially what was coming from Manchester and Birmingham, and Dublin. I liked some Aussie bands like the Sharks but mostly I liked Aussie movies which were just starting to make an impact in America in the early 80's. Movies like Breaker Morant, Mad Max, Walkabout, Young Einstein, Gallipoli, and Starstruck. Although I have never been to Australia I have been intrigued by the quirky sense of humor I find in Aussie films. Strictly Ballroom a decade later was much in the same tradition, it had the same spirit as Starstruck. What happened to Aussie cinema? It seems that there are many Australian actors like Nicole Kidman and Russell Crowe who take themselves so seriously and mostly act in Hollywood films playing non Australians. Even Peter Weir is no longer making Australian movies. I say bring em back!

I saw this movie when it was originally released in America in the early 1980's. I enjoyed the film quite a bit and eventually bought the soundtrack. I just rented the film on video and it still holds up for me after all these years. It is still simple, quirky, vibrant and lively just as I remembered it. The characters are well drawn and very unique and the dance numbers are just as quirky as the rest of the movie. The "Body and Soul" number in the pub literally gets everyone in on the act and it is a highlight of the film for me. I read where director Gillian Armstrong said the reason she made the film after scoring with a period piece like "My Brilliant Career" is because she wanted to do something unusual and little unexpected. She (and all involved) very much succeed. The soundtrack has 1980's style new wave influenced pop. Whether you enjoy the rest of the movie will probably depend on whether you enjoy that style of music. If you do, give this movie a look, if you do not, then pass on it.

The director of "My Brilliant Career", the Production Designer of "The Rocky Horror Picture Show", a choreographer working without trained dancers, several script writers and many composers bring a low-budget post-punk vitality to Sydney Australia.

As the commentary on the DVD mentions, the prints of Starstruck seem to have been severely cut in different releases, and this print has at least one song hacked out of the release I saw in 1982. Still, the bouncy energy survives. Teenage lust and ambition are tempered with working class family values. The homage to Richard Lester and gay Busby Berkeley routine are still hilarious, and the finale will have your toes a-tapping.