Such a frustrating disappointment

I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

Consider this film concept. An ordinary young man with big dreams discovers a beautiful young woman working as an order-taker in a burger joint. He instantly sees her glamor potential. He convinces her that she could be a Playboy model. They leave their hometown and move to Hollywood. He becomes her manager.Then later, Hollywood in general, and Hugh Hefner in particular, accept the young woman, but want nothing to do with the young man. But that's not consistent with the young man's dream of becoming a flashy Hollywood big shot. He feels slighted, rejected. And "they" have taken his love away from him. The result is tragic.That's the underlying premise of "Star 80", the true-life story of the young woman, Playboy model Dorothy Stratten (Mariel Hemingway), and the young man, Paul Snider (Eric Roberts). Writer/Director Bob Fosse tells the story from the POV of Snider. And the film's structure consists of one long flashback, from the final sequence. Various characters along the way offer their take on Stratten and Snider.The film portrays Stratten as innocent, naïve, shy, polite, confused, overly trusting, and a tad vacuous. Snider, part-time photographer and small-time huckster, comes across initially as a jerk. Oily and flashy-looking, he ingratiates himself to Hefner (Cliff Robertson) and other Hollywood insiders. But it doesn't work. Eventually, his possessiveness of Stratten and jealousy of her insider connections, combined with Hollywood's rejection of him, leave him emotionally unbalanced, desperate, and ultimately psychotic.The film's production values are fine. Eric Roberts, with his very large mouth, not only physically resembles the real Paul Snider, but also exudes behavior and an inner sense of self, consistent with what we would expect of Snider. Mariel Hemingway gives a fine performance as Stratten. I thought Robertson's performance as Hefner was a little flat.While the film is mostly a character study of Stratten and Snider, it also gives us a glimpse into a ruthless and cruel Tinseltown, where dreams can easily morph into nightmares. To an outsider wanting in, the best advice is ... approach the beast with distrust and caution.

The slimy underbelly of the entertainment industry and the destruction that so often comes along with fame was a theme that lurked behind every movie Bob Fosse made, and it's at its most obvious and aggressively nasty in "Star 80." Eric Roberts plays Paul Snider, a sleazy hood who discovered Playboy centerfold Dorothy Stratten and then murdered her and himself in an obsessive rage. It's a heartbreaking, violent and disturbing story on many levels; however, the saddest thing about it is that Stratten wouldn't be worth making a movie about if she hadn't been murdered in the first place. What does that tell you about the lure of celebrity?Roberts gives a fierce performance as Snider -- he was a very good and almost completely overlooked actor. Mariel Hemingway plays Stratten, and she's rather vapid, which is all the role really requires. Fosse was not able to keep his cynicism and bile at bay, and so while the movie is accomplished, it's also downright unpleasant to sit through. It's as nihilistic as "All That Jazz" but without the flashy production numbers to add some variety.Grade: B

I saw Star 80 back in the mid 80's on television. They edited a lot but it still remained potent then. I bought the movie in the 90's at local retail store. I must have watched it a dozen times. I was even more memorized by the character of Paul played by Eric. I liked how it was told from Fosse's view point about how Paul might have felt. I can see how those in the upper crowd didn't like him. His was mean, immature and just plain weird. Paul didn't really love Dorothy. He loved himself. The tragic part of this is that Dorothy loved Paul enough to be sympathy for his failures. He uses her heart only to kill her. What I like most about the film is that it shows the darker side of relationships. Anyone who is dating a Paul like character needs to see the film. It just might save their life!

STAR 80 is a scary movie alright but the truth about the killing of Paul Snider and Dorothy Stratton is even scarier. Paul Snider grew up in Vancouver, B.C. in an apartment complex called Dolphin Court located in Kerrisdale, a higher class neighbourhood. He was pretty much a normal kid, played with all the other children in the complex, Frannie, Janice, Carol, the Nusant, kids, some kids who later became highly distinguished in their fields and some who were never heard of. like me. I remember we would sit around Richard's parents TV watching Maggie Muggins and Tom Terrific and Mighty Manfred the wonder dog. What was strange to me was that Paul would climb to the top of the slide at the playground in the center of the apartment complex and look down at me and yell " Penny! Penny!" I wasn't afraid of him I just remember he seemed to be crying out for help. My mother told me that Penny had been his little sister and was killed in an accident. His mother had told my mother that it had not been long since she had died and Paul was missing her.I suppose I looked like her.Not until years later did I learn from my mother that Paul had stabbed me in the back of my neck with a pair of sheers he had found in the basement. No details were ever given for how it happened or why.That was around 1956, Ever since my mother told me that I have wondered what could have happened. When I heard on the radio decades later, that Paul Snider had killed himself and Dorothy Stratto and then saw the movie I know something was all wrong.I now know what. I just have to put a few middle missing pieces together before I can see the whole truth. I am getting close.