In a very short span of time, pop singer Karen Carpenter rose to international musical fame and then became a tragic figure after dying young from the eating disorder anorexia. Remarkably, Starving for Perfection manages to capture all of that in just over an hour and a half.
For a very basic overview, director Randy Martin takes a chronological route through Karen Carpenter's life, chronicling her rise to fame in the late 1960s and then superstardom in the 1970s. The dynamics of her Midwest family--especially some tumultuousness with mother Agnes--play a big role here as well, including how the musical ear of brother Richard both at times held Karen back (via family favoritism) and other times ascended her drumming/vocals to new heights. Paralleling all of this is Karen's slow slide into eating disorder, culminating in tragedy in 1982.
To capture all of this, Martin interweaves two methods in Starving for Perfection:
First, a number of "talking heads" give insightful commentary on their relationships with Karen or how she inspired them. Such figures include Carol Burnett, Cynthia Gibb, Olivia Newton-John, Suzanne Somers, Kristin Chenoweth, & Carnie Wilson. These interviews really cement how truly talented Karen was and help understand how her music/vocals stand the test of time.
Secondly, a large amount of archival Carpenters footage is utilized--including some taped audio interviews that are supposedly the first time ever heard publicly. These are the sections that really dig deep into Karen's psyche and show how her body and romantic insecurities--fueled by her on-stage, front-and-center status as well as little support from immediate family--led her down the dangerous anorexia path where at certain points she weighed less than 80 pounds in total.
Coming into Starving for Perfection, all I knew about Karen Carpenter is that she was a music star in the 1970s and died of anorexia. Coming out of the doc, I understood both of those facets in a far more nuanced fashion. Karen Carpenter possessed a once-in-a-lifetime sort of vocal talent, which (orchestrated by brother Richard) became iconic. Yet, such fame could never really be enjoyed as her romantic pursuits (largely non-existent or outright failures) and body image issues were not understood or supported in ways they hopefully would have been in the current era.
Ultimately, this doc does a remarkable job of managing such sad content without forgetting the more positive legacy of Karen Carpenter--that of her angelic voice and wholesome, positive image and music. I was riveted by every morsel of material here all the way through to the closing credits.
