Star 80

The all singin'n'dancin' Fosse turns his hand to straight tragedy with the true story of Dorothy Stratten's pathetically short career as Playboy pin-up and film starlet (her only starring role was in Peter Bogdanovich's They All Laughed), before being cruelly, senselessly murdered by her jealous husband. Hemingway has reinforced not only her breasts but her promise of becoming a sensitive and accomplished actress in her portrayal of the ill-fated Dorothy. The rest, however, is a disappointingly shallow display of images cut together in an apparently haphazard fashion; flashes back and forward are liberally sprinkled with meaningless vistas of naked flesh. This superficial view extends to the characters; in particular, Dorothy's ambitious, hustling husband (Roberts), and her quiet film director/lover (Rees), never really step outside their cardboard cut-outs, making the whole thing feel more like a naughty snapshot than any artistic achievement.