Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story

Plot synopsis:
The film covers Karen Carpenter from the time of her "discovery" in 1966 to her untimely death by cardiac arrest (secondary to anorexia nervosa) in 1983. The movie begins with a quasi-first person recap of her mother Agnes Carpenter discovering Karen's body in her parents' Downey, California home on February 4, 1983, and then returns by flashback to 1966. The story touches on major points in Karen's life from 1966 on:
The duo's signing with record label A&M
Their initial success and subsequent decline
Karen's development of anorexia nervosa (spurred by an infamous review which described the well-proportioned Karen as "chubby")
Her on-stage collapse in Las Vegas
Her search for treatment for her anorexia nervosa
Her attempt to restart her career
A claim that she gradually developed a reliance on syrup of ipecac (a product which, unbeknownst to her, destroyed her heart and led to her cardiac arrest).
An unusual facet of the film was that, instead of actors, almost all parts were played by modified Barbie dolls. In particular, Haynes detailed Karen's worsening anorexia by subtly whittling away at the face and arms of the "Karen" Barbie doll. Sets were created properly scaled to the dolls, including locales such as the Carpenter home in Downey, Karen's apartment in Century City, restaurants, recording studios – including minute details such as labels on wine bottles and Ex-Lax boxes. Interspersed with the story were documentary-style segments detailing the times in which Karen Carpenter lived and also detailing anorexia; these segments were seen as dry and melodramatic parodies of the documentary genre. The underlying soundtrack included many popular hits of the day, including duets such as Elton John and Kiki Dee and Captain & Tennille, and songs by Gilbert O'Sullivan, Leon Russell, and the Carpenters themselves.
The tone of the film was sympathetic to Karen, especially in regards to her anorexia, but much of that sympathy was gained by making the other characters as unsympathetic as possible. Karen's parents, Harold and Agnes, were portrayed as overly controlling, attempting to keep Karen living at home even after she turned twenty-five; Agnes, in addition, was portrayed as unaware of the extent of Karen's problem with anorexia. The duo's initial meeting with A&M Records owner Herb Alpert was inter-cut with stock footage of Vietnam War scenes. Richard Carpenter was portrayed as a rampant perfectionist who frequently sided with his parents against Karen, and was also depicted as more concerned with his and Karen's careers than with Karen's health. This culminated in a scene where Richard berates a fatigued and obviously ill Karen for not meeting business demands, asking her, "What are you trying to do? Ruin both of our careers?", causing her to break down in tears. Haynes even insinuated during a fight between Richard and Karen that Richard was gay – which, if it had been reported to the public in the 1970s, would have destroyed the Carpenters' "clean-cut" image and the group's career.
Haynes' treatment of the film was quite dark; his choice of black captions often blended in with the scene, rendering them unreadable. Additionally, Haynes worked spanking (a common theme in his works) into the film with a repeated segment featuring a black-and-white overhead view of someone, possibly Harold, administering an over-the-knee spanking to a bare-bottomed adult Karen. The meaning of this segment is never discussed, leaving it to the viewer's imagination – it may be an actual event, a representation of Karen's self-loathing regarding her inability to be the "perfect" child, or a representation of the self-discipline involved with her anorexia.

Tags: cult

Review:
I think it has less to do with "unauthorized" use of Carpenter songs then the fact that Karen's family comes across as monsters and largely responsible for her death.Quite simply this film is a kick in the face, a punch to the gut and utterly heartbreaking.
A marvelous film made by Todd Haynes, a Brown University student at the time, later the director of "Poison" and the brilliant, hypnotic "Safe" (1995), "Superstar" details the rise and fall of Karen Carpenter entirely through an inspired formal devise: Carpenter, her brother Richard, family, and friends are all "portrayed" by Barbie dolls.
The film is not merely about fame or anorexia (the disease of which Carpenter died), but conjures the suburban California of the 1970's, indeed the whole plastic experience of America and American pop culture (of which, of course, The Carpenters and Barbie dolls are most certainly a part).
The sincere lite-rock of The Carpenters is juxtaposed with the emptiness and powerful sorrow of these "people"; the film isn't merely a satire--it's deeply touching in a way that many "human stories" fail to be.
It sounded like a funny, semi-serious biography of Karen Carpenter, whose music I do happen to enjoy.
Karen's descent into anorexia is represented through whittling down the face and arms of the Barbie doll that portrays her, which has an effect both hilarious and disturbing.
When I first heard of a Karen Carpenter movie acted out by Barbie dolls, I thought, "Yeah, right." Actually, it's not half-bad, revealing the ugly side of brother Richard and their parents.
Combining the details of Karen Carpenter's existence with his motif/approach, Haynes tells us a lot about the suffering, solitude, and emotional blackmail that comes with that yearn for success.
I am amused that most film critics stuck to the surface story and paid lip service to Karen Carpenter's ordeal as a girl in a nuclear family bubble.
Mattel blocks it because of the usage of Barbie dolls for all the characters and the overt implication that plastic existence has drastic consequences.It's amusing and then gripping the overlays of text, music upon music, narrative, darkness, and camera pans that punctuate the film.
But the surface story -- Karen lost in her own world of hopeless perfection as envisioned by her domineering mother, Agnes Carpenter -- is a fine one as it depicts a cultural shift from Vietnam's horror to Nixon's false-father stability.
And yet the reason for her illness, like the bird attacks in Hitchcock's 1963 thriller, is never disclosed -- as if it could be, and Haynes shows us his chains of reasoning and events and all we can do is marvel at the Edgar Allen Poe Barbie Dolls and Karen's gradual transformation into Munch visual madness.Todd Haynes takes liberties with what happened, but usually only as a convenience; it all comes through and through regardless: the family's accidental discovery that Karen could sing like nobody else; the switch from laxatives to syrup of ipecac and vomiting; the allegations that Richard Carpenter has always been homosexual.Word-of-mouth will get you a copy of the film, which only benefits from the acres of great music the duo produced.
One of the most beautiful, poignant shots ever is in Superstar--Karen Carpenter, alone in the studio, singing a very sad song as the camera pans up and the lights grow dim, the only visible thing her shining face and her echoing, melancholy voice.
There's a certain brilliance behind the idea of using Barbie dolls to recount the story of singer Karen Carpenter, and the exchange of one plastic all-American icon with another results in an oddly respectful (if suitably macabre) show-biz biography, flirting at times with campy irreverence without ever becoming vulgar.
I would highly recommend it to anyone, as it starts at the beginning of Karen Carpenter's struggles and depicts her life-long struggle and untimely death.
The movie involves Barbie dolls, and while it may sound silly, it is so effective that it still makes me think today, ten years after my recovery..
Here in the era of "South Park" the idea of a drama about the Karen Carpenter tragedy acted out by Ken and Barbie sounds like a crass joke, and yet Haynes treats the material with extraordinary assurance.
The dolls evoke not only the cultural issue of female body-image but a not-entirely vanished society -- Nixon's "Silent Majority," with its suffocating aesthetic and tight-lipped insecurity -- and the strange sound the Carpenters constituted within it: wholesome, sweetly naive songs delivered in Karen's deft, sultry/ melancholy voice.
It was an odd enough voice to be coming from the real Carpenter, and here, juxtaposed with the wide-eyed, increasingly skeletal "Karen" doll, the effect is spooky and shockingly poignant.
To what degree the treatment is fair to the Carpenter family is unclear, but as a film it makes an interesting companion piece to Haynes' extraordinary "Safe" and stands on its own as a superb pop-art elegy and a genuine outlaw triumph..
As for "Superstar, The Karen Carpenter Story", it should be sent as far away as the East is from the West.MY COMMENT ON THE ABOVE, TO ITS AUTHOR: Just 3 things, really.
and clearly failed, since the illicit outlaw Mattel-mockery SUPERSTAR continues to survive.2) If the commentator above had fathered Richard & Karen Carpenter (I'm leaving his wife Terrie out of this, in fairness to the woman) the siblings' DNA would have contained no talent of any kind, and so The Carpenters as we know them would never have existed.
So the reviewer could never have "possibly done things the same way as" Harold and Agnes Carpenter, with regard to Richard & Karen, who would have been entirely different children and adults than the celebrities we're all so familiar with today.
In fact all the characters in the show were displayed using Ken and Barbie dolls, and it added a certain eeriness to what was happening to Karen.Anorexia nervosa is a deadly mental health condition.
About 5% to 20% of people diagnosed with anorexia will ultimately die from its ravaging effects on the body and mind: cardiac complications, organ failure, and even suicide."Karen's diet of salad or bean broth and Exlax, and ultimately Ipecac, was a sure route to death.The depiction of Carpenter's family is unflattering; they seem ignorant about her anguish.
Not surprising as they "spanked her like a child" every time she tried to assert her independence.You may chuckle a bit at a movie using Barbie dolls, but you will soon get immersed in the story behind the story and the grinning will stop..
In 1988, filmmaker Todd Haynes released a short film about Karen Carpenter's anorexia-related death.
The entire film is, essentially, a reenactment of the events with the people being played by Barbie and Ken dolls.
The entire film was more from the perspective of Karen Carpenter and is probably one of the most sympathetic portraits of her plight in existence.
Unfortunately, the Carpenter family was none too happy about the film's release and, with the addition of several uncleared music rights, was banned from distribution.
Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story, found it's place in film viewing from the hundreds of bootlegs currently in circulation.
It's a well-known fact that Haynes, in order to properly portray Karen's weight problems, actually shaved off layers of plastic off of her Barbie doll avatar in order to graphically show her descent.
Though Todd Haynes's Superstar is certainly a Karen Carpenter story, it is just as much a story of values-oriented America, perfectly captured in an American icon: the Barbie doll.
Superstar tells the story of Karen Carpenter's struggle with anorexia by puppeting Barbies and Kens to represent all of the film's central characters.
Todd Haynes recognizes the strange tension of earnestness and irony in Carpenter/Barbie/America, and smartly avoids winking or nudging in the style of his film.
though some images were a bit over-played (showing boxes of ex-lax; male hands; a woman being beaten by a man), the stock footage (and other real-life footage) was a very effective way of setting the tone of the film, and providing background knowledge about anorexia, and the Carpenters in general.
the backgrounds had so much detail that it was a shame I was only watching a grainy copy with tiny aspect ratio.I give the movie overall an 8.5/10 because even though I think it did a wonderful job at accomplishing what it was meant to do (make a societal critique about anorexia and the treatment of women by discussing Karen Carpenter's story), it had some technical issues/concerns (not being able to read titles because the background was the same color; using same footage repeatedly), and I just, personally, don't prefer issues being presented so blatantly.but still something pretty much everyone should watch..
For a fraction of the price of say, something like REPO MAN (ranked #9), Todd Haynes has created a 43 minute film way more powerful than "campy", and it holds up much better than REPO MAN, which I also recently watched again.I always had a soft spot for the "vanilla" sounds of The Carpenters, even though you'd never know it by my music collection.
Top of the World, We've Only Just Begun, and of course, Yesterday Once More always take me back to the carefree times of my youth.Even though this is really a "bootleg movie", as Haynes never got any licensing rights for the music, it's really worth a view if you have any interest in Karen's story or the Carpenters' music.
As a die-hard Carpenters fan, people find it hard to believe that I like this film.
But somewhere, when a parent hears Karen's voice, they say a prayer of thanks to the woman whose death may have saved their own daughter's life.I think Todd Haynes created a chilling and all-too-accurate portrait of a young woman at odds with her family and herself.
He "directed" the dolls very realistically, and the dream-like quality of the film evokes the confusion of the beautiful, tortured soul that was Karen Carpenter..
See Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story for it's unusual doll depiction of a life.
Filmmaker Todd Haynes' dramatization of Karen Carpenter's life story and her battle with anorexia nervosa with Barbie dolls makes this one of the most fascinating depictions of a superstar's descent into madness.
Haynes, who would later make Far From Heaven and Safe, plays various Carpenter songs alone to illustrate Karen's feelings clearly when scenes focus on her.
For the unusual way you see an entertainer's life depicted, Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story is certainly one of the most mind blowing experiences I've ever had!.
It tells the story of Karen Carpenter's battle with anorexia in an intelligent and touching manner, leading to its inevitable end result.
Most surprising was the fact that a film acted out almost entirely without live actors could be engrossing and evoke both sympathy and disgust for a person portrayed by a Barbie doll.
While such an exercise could have ended up a hopelessly dreary assignment, this film provides us with all we need to know: the use of montage, music, the dolls, EVERYTHING combines to make this one of the most effective films I have seen- ironic that I encounter it not in a theater but on a bootleg tape in a college classroom.Despite the seeming mishmash of tricks and features used (voiceovers, text overlays, live commentators which seem intrusive in the doll world) Haynes' portrayal of Karen Carpenter and the illusory, overbearing "dreamland" in which she existed is so succinctly effective and complete that you have no choice but to be drawn in.
excellent portrayal of eating disorder victims, bizarre use of symbols, made even more macabre by the fact that noone i know has ever seen a decent copy of this movie.
The first time I saw this movie was as a last-minute thing, and it was double-billed with John Waters's "The Diane Linkletter Story," which was unfortunate.
"Superstar ..." is dead serious, and addresses eating disorders straight-on, while still giving the viewer an honest view of Karen Carpenter's life, pressures, and place as an artist (I still hear people refer to her as having the most soulful white voice of her generation).
I think a lot of our uneasiness with films that (even wrongly accused) seem to make fun of Karen Carpenter (and "Superstar ..." certainly does not, but its unconventionality leads some to take it as frivolous), is that, when Karen Carpenter died, she'd become uncool, and we made all the jokes about her, and now we feel guilty.Seeing this movie should pick at the scab on that guilt a bit, which isn't a bad thing.In contrast, "The Diane Linkletter Story," also about a famous young woman's untimely death (suicide from a high window), was a joke made to shock the audience.
It's not supposed to since (I believe) it's a parody of "on the spot" news coverage in which there is no rest time between actual events and the reporting thereof.It is that rest time, and the reflection that Todd Haynes put into "Superstar ..." that makes the movie so touching and illuminating, regardless of his choice of materials/cast.And the music still haunts to this day ....
I'd just like to add that even though the idea of Barbie dolls acting it all out, this film really never is laughable.
I did not cry while watching it, I laughed - not at Karen Carpenter, nor at people suffering from anorexia, but at the sight of watching Karen's life story and the condition of anorexia being acted out on barbie dolls.
If you're one of those but still want to see a film on the life of Karen Carpenter, then watch this Karen > Carpenter Story instead: imdb title 0097648.
Superstar is reminiscent of the movies I saw back then, although it's somewhat more focused and coherent than most of them.Using Barbie dolls to play real people is an interesting device that works to some extent.
The movie has a well meaning concern with anorexia, and tries to explain, a little bit, what it is and how it happens.On the other hand, the movie has, like most art films, a lot of pretentious, random shots (in this case of holocaust victims and spanking) and the movie seems to have an ax to grind with Richard Carpenter; he is portrayed as domineering and unsympathetic and it is implied, for no reason that I can see, that he is gay.
The story itself is somewhat interesting, but 45 minutes is a long time to spend with bland Barbie dolls and the movie's lack of conventional movie devices such as character development just illustrate why art films never do well beyond a niche audience who so hates Hollywood that they fall in love with any movie that purposely flouts film conventions.The irony is that the thing that powers the movie and keeps it from being completely painful is the most movie-conventional quality, the wall-to-wall Carpenters sound track..
As for "Superstar, The Karen Carpenter Story", it should be sent as far away as the East is from the West..
The device of using Barbie dolls to depict the Karen Carpenter story makes "Superstar" a little frustrating to watch at times.
The reality of Karen's situation, as well as the fact that she was a ubiquitous public figure and very easily recognized, makes for an affecting experience, but this same story has also been told many other times in countless "movie of the week" formats (with other diseases or afflictions substituting for anorexia).
I also wonder about how accurate the film is in telling Karen's true story.
Either way, the film draws some very clear conclusions about the impetus for Karen's anorexia, mainly an overbearing family life and the professional pressures that came with her successful career--pressures that, if the film is to be believed, were made even worse by the demanding nature of her brother, Richard Carpenter.The movie does bring out some psychology about the nature of anorexia, but I fail to see how this could be considered a "serious" study of the disease.
Ironically (or not, depending on the director's intention), the real weight that this short film carries comes from the combination of Karen's tragic story with the sound of her own voice in the many sentimental Carpenters songs that are included on the soundtrack.
Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story.
Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story.
Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story.
Todd Haynes decided to create a bio-pic depicting the life of this tragic star and entitled it Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story.
Attempting to keep the wholesome façade on the surface, her dark inner struggles soon became the bigger news story and sadly just as memorable as her songs and amazing voice used to give them to the world.Unable to secure the rights to The Carpenters' catalog of music, Haynes has never been able to get this early short film out to the public in any legal way.
Understandably, due to the representation of his character and family, Richard Carpenter filed an injunction against its release and the film may never be officially available.
It's a real shame because there is a lot to like about the work  the least of which is the fact that it is all told with Barbie Dolls filling in as actors.
Haynes utilizes a lot of cut scenes and montages in Superstar, adding text blocks to explain facts on anorexia or to elaborate events in the Carpenters' life, showing archival footage of the Vietnam protests and Richard Nixon, or just letting idyllic suburbia fly past while a camera shoots out a car window.
I loved the almost horror film quality to narrator Bruce Tuthill's voice and in many scenes, like a later one involving Richard yelling at Karen, the emotions come across stronger than the lingering chance of breaking into laughter at the fact dolls are performing the visual accompaniment.
There are two possible ways which approach to give to the 43-minute short film "Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story".