WillSushyMedia
This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.
StyleSk8r
At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.
Bob
This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.
johnstonjames
definitely one of cinema's best and under-recognized musical classics. i've loved this movie dearly since i first had the pleasure of seeing and hearing it back in 1982. unfortunately and obviously, i was one of the very few persons here in the States that did. throughout the decades i have always raved and tried to discuss this movie with cinema fans and fans of film musicals. it never fails to draw a blank with everyone. even to this day, there are only twenty reviewers of it on IMDb. compare with the hundreds of reviewers of say, 'High School Musical'. how sad. 'HSM' certainly isn't as bold or intelligent, it isn't even as much fun as this. and the music and dance numbers in 'HSM' aren't nearly as clever or good.Jo Kennedy and Ross O'Donavan give some of the best performances i have ever seen by teen age actors. the 14 year old Donovan is hilarious and brilliant, giving a performance that is wise beyond his years, and the unexpectedly versatile Jo Kennedy is a marvel. not only is her performance comic and her singing off the chart, she also walks a tight rope. yes. literally walks tight rope. this was well before CGI effects and that is obviously her doing her own stunt.in fact. the opening scene with O'Donvan encouraging Kennedy to walk a tight rope over a busy intersection wearing a bare breasted body suit, is so immediately engaging and side splittingly funny. i've seen few movies get this funny this fast.anyone new to the musical 'Starstruck', may be surprised to find that this isn't just a cute and amusing film musical, but is also really good, low budget Aussie cinema. it often feels like what a musical would be like if it were directed by Peter Wier. it's musical numbers are extremely funny and in the example of the dance number "we all live like ants", very unconventional and innovative.in fact this is one of the most unconventional musicals ever made. and it still continues to be more original than most, some thirty years later. most large budget fiasco's would do best to study how this simple film, on a very low budget, manages to be as clever and innovative and so charming with very little resource except inspiration.
David E Romm
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.
kingmonkey
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.
chinasyndrome
Warning: possible minor spoilers. This may very well be THE most bizarre movie I've ever seen, and definitely the most fun! I first saw it when I was 7, then just tracked it down a couple days ago (I'm now 19). I didn't realize how much of the movie had stayed with me. From the Australian accents so thick they need subtitles to the synchronized dance number with inflatable sharks, STARSTRUCK is so blissfully over-the-top that it NEVER gets old. In fact, it just keeps getting better! The songs are so silly and ridiculous ("Temper Temper"? "The Monkey In Me"?) that you can't help but hum them all day. Obnoxious but well-intentioned Angus, and his cousin, and the completely batty yet sexy Jackie make perfect off-the-wall leads. These two do the strangest things: Jackie walks the tightrope in the middle of her mum's pub, does a striptease out of a red kangaroo suit (!?) and even surfs on the ironing board! Angus hangs from street signs, cordially throws himself into traffic and even manages to get laid before he turns 15, wearing a tacky leopard print tuxedo, no less! The real icing on the cake here are the song and dance numbers. If you enjoy having fun at all, treat yourself to the rockiest 80s new wave musical ever made! If only STARSTRUCK would be released on DVD in the states... I'd snatch it up in a second!
