Star Crossed Lovers
Taking in to consideration that I watched "Star" knowing full well it is an adaptation of a Danielle Steel novel I knew exactly what to expect. Soft focus camera work, over perfect looking people, melodramatic romance and various seriously safe sex scenes as people end up in and out of bed. But even knowing that was what I was going to get and was only really watching because it stars Jennie Garth "Star" is still a bit of a slog for those who are not huge Danielle Steel fans.
Having first met the older Spencer Hill (Craig Bierko - Scary Movie 4) whilst she was still at high school Crystal Wyatt (Jennie Garth - Secret Santa) could never forget him. But following her father passing away she wishes there were some things she could forget because after being raped by her brother-in-law and with her mean mother disbelieving she goes to shoot him except he goes to shoot her and accidentally kills her brother as he tries to intervene. Having runaway from the ranch her father built Crystal heads to San Francisco and after finding work at a friendly bar starts living her dream as a singer getting herself a big career. Meanwhile Spencer has been set up with and married a society wife called Elizabeth (Terry Farrell) in keeping with his high profile career and associations. But when Spencer sees Crystal performing they embark on an affair a troubled one due to his marriage and her career.
That synopsis is a lot more than I tend to write and it does seem a lot considering that once you get past the initial set up of Crystal heading to San Francisco "Star" ends up pretty ordinary. But it does need that much because there is quite a bit of back story to things, whether it is all really needed is another matter as it seems pointlessly over convoluted but it does bring some drama. And as to what happens when Crystal and Spencer meet up and want to be together well as I said it doesn't throw that many surprises at the audience as true love doesn't run smoothly when Spencer is with the seductive and manipulative Elizabeth.
In truth if I was feeling in a mean mood I would say that "Star" is a convoluted mess full of gaping plot holes but for some reason I just can't bring myself to stick the knife into this overly dramatic romantic drama. That really comes down to the fact it stars Jennie Garth and she does sweet and vulnerable so well that it is hard to dislike her even though the character is inconsistent. In fact none of the characters are that good but just typical of what you expect from a movie based on a Danielle Steel novel. As for Jennie Garth well I don't know if that is her actually singing the John Denver song "Follow Me" but if it is she is seriously impressive.
What this all boils down to is that "Star" is exactly what I expected from a movie based on a Danielle Steel story and as such isn't really my sort of thing. But for those who like these melodramatic romance stories it will probably entertaining.
Tags: Danielle Steel Movies
