Starstruck (1982 film)
| Starstruck | |
|---|---|
movie poster for Starstruck
|
|
| Directed by | Gillian Armstrong |
| Produced by | Richard Brennan David Elfick |
| Written by | Stephen MacLean |
| Starring |
Jo Kennedy Ross O'Donovan Margo Lee |
| Distributed by |
Australian Film Commission Palm Beach Pictures |
|
Release date
|
11 September 1982 (Canada) |
|
Running time
|
105 minutes |
| Country | Australia |
| Language | English |
| Budget | A$2,700,000 (est.) |
| Box office | AU $1,541,000 (Australia) |
Starstruck is a 1982 Australian comedy-drama musical film starring Jo Kennedy, Ross O'Donovan and Margo Lee about two teenagers trying to make their break into the music industry. The film was shot on location in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was marketed with the tagline "A Comedy Musical." The hotel shots were filmed at the Harbour View Hotel in Sydney's "The Rocks" district, near the south pylon of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
Sydney teenager Jackie Mullens works as a barmaid in her mother's failing hotel pub, but dreams of becoming a singing star. Her scheming 14-year-old cousin Angus aspires to be her manager. At a local club talent night, Jackie's performance impresses pop band The Wombats, who become her backing band. Jackie also begins dating the band's guitarist, Robbie.
In an attempt to get Jackie on a TV talent show, "The Wow! Show", Angus calls up the show's host, Terry Lambert, and tells him Jackie will be walking a tightrope between high-rise buildings, nude. Although the stunt backfires, Terry is intrigued enough to feature Jackie on the show. Jackie develops a crush on the suave Terry, and under his influence, she drops the Wombats from her act, tones down her quirky style of music and dress to be more conventional, and breaks up with Robbie who disapproves of these changes. Jackie's TV appearance with her new look and sound is a failure, and afterwards she discovers that Terry, who she thought was romantically interested in her, is actually gay. Humiliated, she reconciles with Robbie. Meanwhile, Angus' deadbeat father Lou has returned and begun romancing Jackie's hardworking mother Pearl, but the affair ends badly when Lou disappears with all the money from the pub's safe, leaving Pearl and the pub, which was already on the verge of closing, in dire financial straits.
In order to save both the pub and Jackie's singing career, Angus comes up with a plan for Jackie and the Wombats to crash The Wow! Show's New Year's Eve talent competition at the Sydney Opera House by posing as stage crew and then taking over the stage. The plan works and Jackie wins the $25,000 prize, thus becoming a star and saving the pub.
The film spawned a soundtrack album, which includes the hit single "Body and Soul" sung by Jo Kennedy. The song was written by Tim Finn of Split Enz. The single made number 5 on the Australian charts in May 1982.
...
Wikipedia