Starstruck

Reviewer: Maria Komodore
Rating (out of 5): ***½

Starstruck was renowned Australian director Gillian Armstrong's second feature. After making a name for herself with My Brilliant Career (1979), a romantic period drama which garnered a number of awards and critical acclaim, Armstrong apparently wanted to get involved in a completely different project to prove herself to be a versatile filmmaker. And that she did.

Made in 1982 in Sydney, Australia, Starstruck is a campy and energetic teen musical that delightfully captures a time when that country's new wave music scene was erupting. Featuring a wonderfully silly soundtrack with rock and punkish inclinations by pop band The Swingers (supposedly they were selected over INXS and Men at Work who were also interested in writing music for the film), the movie follows Jackie (Jo Kennedy) and her cousin Angus (Ross O'Donovan) as they try to sing and dance their way out of their seemingly mundane lives into a successful music career. Due to certain plots twists, which feel more as extra excuses to break out into frantic dancing than points advancing the story, things don't go exactly as planned for the two cousins, but fear not; in the end valuable lessons are learned and everybody is happy.

The dynamism and electricity that young Kennedy breathes into her role is truly refreshing, and her chemistry with (the even younger) O'Donovan lends their on-screen relationship a discreet tenderness. Flamboyant and humorous choreographies abound, while Brian Thomson's (The Rocky Horror Picture Show) excellent production-design touches give Starstruck a surprisingly non-dated and idiosyncratic look. Last but not least: keep your eyes open for Geoffrey Rush playing a desperate studio floor-manager in his second film credit!

The DVD's extra features contain audio commentary with producer Richard Brennan, the U.S. and Australian theatrical trailers, a poster and still gallery, and music highlights. There's also a worthy bonus disc that includes two enjoyable featurettes of interviews with Armstrong herself, producer David Elfick, cinematographer Russell Boyd, and screenwriter Stephen Maclean, as well as alternate, extended, and deleted scenes.