"The words famous and famished come from the same root, they both involve hunger" - Buck Henry

They are the most populous, yet anonymous, entities in the entertainment world.  They hold jobs as waiters, waitresses, receptionists, delivery persons, and secretaries.  The stars are in their eyes, and dreams are in their hearts propelling them forward through the brightest days and darkest nights.  They are the aspiring actors and filmmakers all hungry to either show the world their vision, or become a part of someone else’s.  In Lisa Picard is Famous, a playful, heartfelt, but slightly clichéd tale of the birth and ascension of potential stars, actor and now film maker, Griffin Dunne has crafted his tribute to these struggling souls, obviously told from the perspective of someone who has been there.  This is someone who has made the trek, from the first time stepping off the bus, through the days spent passing out head shots and running to interviews, to the pinnacle of success, attempting to catch a ride on fame’s fleeting heels, and ride it longer than 15 minutes.  Though the film wavers and falters slightly towards the conclusion, this is still a testament to the other side of the glamour that is so prevalent.

Dunne captures the truest, most real human emotions and reactions through the tale of his heroine Lisa Picard (co-writer).  We catch up with Lisa as she runs to commercial auditions, while waiting for the mini-series that she sees as her potential big break.  Dunne is the aspiring filmmaker, wanting to capture the pre and post stardom versions of Lisa, and chronicle the effects that fame and the realization of dreams can have on a person.  Lisa is an overly cute, bubbly and energetic soul, who has obviously read every chapter of How To Be a Star 101, right down to schmoozing with stars, passing out flyers and photos, and saying all the things that sound right, to all the people who matter.  She has an upcoming part in a television mini-series starring Melissa Gilbert.  She is energetic over the tiniest of bit parts, but is also dogged by a controversial and racy commercial for Chex cereal, which spawns the retort of “if audiences could see the directors cut” from Ms Picard. We are taken into every facet of Lisa’s life, presumably to help us know the unknown Lisa, so that we can make a fair comparison of the known version.  We meet her friend, Tate, also an aspiring star and writer, who has written a one-act play about being a gay actor who is “out” in Hollywood.  It is the presence of this character, and the prevalence of his storyline, which becomes distracting and unnecessary.  The focus switches more to his show, his drive, his dream, with Lisa becoming almost secondary to things.  I can understand about wanting to show the bonds in Lisa’s life, showing the supporting cast, and how they support, affect, and possibly change with fame.  An ironic scene midway through the film tells a lesson that Dunne and company obviously failed to pay attention to.  When Tate is showing tapes of his extra work on a soap opera, Lisa pointedly observes that he is supposed to be supporting and in the background, but he becomes distracting, stealing the focus away from the main purpose of the scene.  Dunne and Kirk obviously realized this rule, but then turn around and commit the same error by bringing Tate into the forefront.  I cared about Lisa, hell, its impossible not to like her, but when she wasn’t on the screen, the movie wavers and falters, and sadly, by the time the ending comes around, Dunne has succumbed to the typical melodrama to wrap things up.  While the movie still leaves a sweet, honest taste in my brain, I was still left wanting and wishing about what could have been.  Not being privy to the denizens of this world, I cannot honestly say that this isn’t how things are, but in a film like this, it is the storytellers job to bring me into the world, both the good and the bad, and let me know what it feels like to be Lisa, to be hungry, desperate, excited, disappointed, frustrated, sometimes all in the course of one day.  While I cannot vouch for its validity, I am left a bit tainted that this is representative of most struggling stars life experience.

It is really difficult to accuse any of the performers of overacting, since these are aspiring stars, behaving, speaking, and responding, as they believe famous people do.  As Lisa, Kirk is the focus of the film, as stated above, and when she is on the screen, you want to watch her and know more about her.  The energetic nature, and the range of emotions given to her, keeps the film going and kept my interest even as the story started to slip away from Dunne.  Since we rarely see Griffin, we have only his voice to go by, and at times he does overreact at times, but then again, this is the other side of the glamour, and the wanna-bes always want to sound and act like they are somebody.  As Tate, DeWolf sometimes steals attention by overacting, but is still a believable presence in her life.  The fault of his character goes more to Dunne’s focus on him than anything else.  One of the strokes of genius though, is the use of interviews, and insertion of real stars into the film.  Dunne obviously cultivated this group from his own rise to stardom, or possibly just their draw to a project like this.  From the initial quote from B-movie legend Henry, to Bullock’s uncomfortably perfect cameo, to other appearances from Penelope Ann Miller, Carrie Fisher, Spike Lee, Fisher Stevens and yes, even Charlie Sheen, Dunne lays the groundwork for something wonderful, but still needs to work a bit on his storytelling abilities.

Ultimately, Lisa Picard may or not become famous because of this film, but Dunne still has some kinks to work out of his directing abilities.  The desire to be known, loved, appreciated, cherished, wanted, desired and respected is something that most people secretly yearn for, and few actually achieve.  The only thing that differs is the path that each of us takes, in order to reach these goals.  For some, like Lisa, it is the long, hard road, to grab onto a dream, to do something you love, while actually sustaining a successful career.  Dunne has presented a film, which from all I know accurately portrays this journey with few rewards and many pitfalls along the way.  This film may not elicit the respect and admiration for those who have made it, but it will generate a slightly different perspective on what it actually does take to get to the top.  Dunne’s effort, like Lisa’s personality, is very charming, heartfelt, and well-intended, but sometimes distracting and unfocused in presentation.

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