Review of Stardust Memories (1980) by Blake P — 02 Feb 2012

Sandy Bates (Allen) is a filmmaker similar to Charlie Chaplin, who decides he doesn't want to make funny movies anymore. Wanting to be more serious is not something that sits well with his studio, so they decide to plan a seminar at the Hotel Stardust dedicated to his work, so have him realize that funny is what he does best.

During his stay, he becomes stuck between cynical actress Dorrie (Rampling), producer Daisy (Harper), and his French mistress Isobel (Barrault), and at the same time goes through a deep midlife crisis.

"Stardust Memories" is a great Woody Allen movie that takes many themes from Federico Fellini's masterpiece "8 1/2", but instead, satirizes it. Though not autobiographical, the experience goes almost as the ups and downs of fame, or even the downfall of a big figure, creating a realistic but charming look at what a celebrity's life is like.

But considering this is an Allen flick, the film is anything but serious, and pokes fun at Bergman and Fellini almost all the time, and still uses silly one-liners like you would expect. Allen's writing is genius here, and his performance, along with the rest of the great cast is great.

The biggest issue with the film, despite all of its great qualities, is the fact that it's just so narcissistic. Whether or not Allen intended it, his character is anything but likable, and instead of rooting for his character like most of the films in which he stars, you're instead waiting for his downfall.

He shouldn't make mean-spirited movies like this, but luckily the goods outweigh the bad by a lot, which is lucky. Anyways, "Stardust Memories" is a gem among Allen's big body of work, and most may consider this to be one of his most personal works.