Monday, May 5, 2008

Rainy Days And Mondays

Anyone who really knows me, knows I L-O-V-E the Carpenters.

Its been one lovely experience after another today.

Join me in a little time with Karen.

Posted by SGM at 3:16 PM

2 comments:

SGM said...

I had so many of those dresses growing up. None of them yellow, of course. I had a pink flowered one that I thought was the bees knees.
BTW - I will give major points to anyone (other than Dan and rik) would saw the Carpenters Dollumentary (lemme see if I can find that somewhere).

May 5, 2008 at 9:10 PM
SGM said...

O.k., I found some clips on youtube.

Back in 1987, Dannyboy and I took a little trip out to DC to visit rik. We went to the Smithsonian etc; but seeing this movie before it was banned was the highlight of the trip. We must have been so high.

Here is part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDtuc7bexOc&feature=related

Part 2:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CzQ6uXTT5M&feature=related

Part 3:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45QacHi26f0&feature=related

Here is the IMdb on the movie (note its been banned, so prolly NSFW): http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094075/

Author: androx from New York, New York

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. Upon its appearance, the film became a minor cause celebre in hip, arty New York circles; unfortunately, when Richard Carpenter, proprietor of The Carpenters' music (who doesn't exactly come across as a hero in the film), got wind of it, he called his lawyers. The fact of the matter is that Haynes and his producers never cleared the use of the music--the film was never intended to be shown for profit. Simply, though, there is no film without the music. The still-standing cease-and-desist order prevents the film from being distributed in any form; I saw a third- or fourth-generation copy on video, and it was still better than virtually anything I saw that year. "Superstar" is worth seeking out; it's genuinely (and I rarely use this word) inspiring.

May 5, 2008 at 9:27 PM

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