Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story (1988)
Todd Haynes’ Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story is a biography of The Carpenters’ singer Karen Carpenter, including her tragic 1983 death from heart failure due to complications from anorexia. If that sounds straightforward, it’s because we left out a key detail: It’s all acted out with Barbie dolls.
It was pulled from release after a copyright infringement lawsuit filed by Karen’s brother and musical partner, Richard Carpenter, who objected to the use of The Carpenters’ songs.
If you think the film sounds disrespectful, it’s not: The film is deeply empathetic toward Karen and admiring of her artistic legacy, and the use of the dolls feels like a commentary on Karen being manipulated and objectified. But Richard and his and Karen’s parents are decidedly unlikable in the film, which may explain Richard’s objections to Superstar.
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