Review of The Idolmaker (1980) by Jim H — 17 Oct 2012

A music manager creates a star out of a singer, but after they part, he has to start all over with a busboy.

Some of the film is stylish, but there's nothing new about this story. Even though The Idolmaker predates mediocre films That Thing You Do and Cadillac Records, I can't imagine that 1980 had not seen the rise and fall of a music manager storyline before. Regardless of its lack of originality, what bothers me most about the film is the main character's hotheadedness and its depiction of women. Vincent is a New York street tough, and he screams and yells at the drop of a hat. Yes, I've met people like Vincent, but there are no layers to his character or to Ray Sharkey's performance. He schemes and he yells, and that's about the extent of it. Women in The Idolmaker are either part of a massive throng of screaming prepubescents or supporting characters who serve the male main characters as verbal punching bags or sex partners or both. They may have interested of their own, as is the case with Ellen, but these interests are either easily manipulated or subsumed to male will.

Overall, this film is a cliche with no noteworthy songs and a sexist portrayal of women.