Miscellaneous - Star Stories
by Sarah Maybank
published: 24 / 8 / 2007

intro
CH4's 'Star Stories' provides satirical documentary-style profiles of the rich and famous. Sarah Maybank is amused by the first series which has just been released on DVD
Psychiatrist: "So, Michael Douglas, how long have you suffered from sex addiction ?" Michael Douglas: "Ever since I was rich and famous." Vain, needy, attention-seeking... what’s not to love to hate about celebrities? And if 'Stellar Street' forged the knife, and 'Extras' brandished it, 'Star Stories' sticks it to them right up to the hilt. What you get here is six sort-of-untruthful, documentary-style ‘profiles’, skewering insecure, champers-quaffing 'Heat' fodder such as Brad & Jen, Douglas & Zeta Jones, Posh & Becks, plus a multitude of their publicity-prone brethren. And it gets them where it hurts in every which way. The actorly lookalikes are insultingly heavier than the skeletal spotlight-seekers they're meant to be portraying, life stories are cheekily tampered with, and soft targets are shamelessly exploited – Jude Law’s hairline; Sean Penn’s toys-out-of-the-pram temper; John "I’m an intensely sexual being" Leslie’s bedroom "interests". One big slap around the chops, then, for the gold-plated, much-envied fraternity for whom life is normally one long air-kiss. And when you’ve finished marvelling at the glorious cruelty of it all, watch it again and enjoy all the jibes directed at peripheral characters such as Gary "Call me uncle" Glitter and Sean "Did you know my dad was Doctor Who ?" Pertwee. What's that, celebs? How dare we, the little people, the civilians, mock your talent and reduce you to mere caricatures? Well, we’re the ones funding your mink-lined lifestyles, so we’ve earned it. And yes, we concede that with the fleets of limos and butlers at your beck and call, you laugh last. But, come on, admit it, we laugh longest.
most viewed articles
current edition
Robby Krieger - Set The Night on Fire, Living, Dying, And Playing Guitar with The DoorsBoomtown Rats - Ten Songs That Made Me Love....
Lida Husik - Interview
Cathal Coughlan - Interview
Rick Wakeman - Interview
Peter Doherty and Frederic Lo - Cavern Club, Liverpool, 27/3/2022
Cliff Richard - Not Fade Away
Simon Bromide - Interview
Candlelight Tribute to Coldplay - Manchester Cathedral, Manchester, 1/4/2022
Wolfgang Flur - Interview
previous editions
World Party - InterviewSam Brown - Interview 2008
Cliff Richard - Vs Elvis Presley
Trudie Myerscough-Harris - Interview
Eric Chappell - Interview 1
Pete Brown - Interview
Ruskin Arms - The Image That Made Me Weep
Half Man Half Biscuit - Ten Songs That Made Me Love...
Joy Division - The Image That Made Me Weep
Melanie Blake - Interview
most viewed reviews
current edition
Rupert Wates - For The PeopleBanjo Jen - Fine Line
Kiki Dee and Carmelo Luggeri - The Long Ride Home
Dead South - Easy Listening for Jerks Parts 1 and 2
Bonham-Bullick - Bonham-Bullick
Family - A Song for Me
Loop - Sonancy
Stereophonics - Oochya!
Weather Station - How Is It That I Should Look At The Stars
John Mayall - The Sun is Shining Down
Pennyblackmusic Regular Contributors
Adrian Janes
Adrian P
Amanda J. Window
Andrew Twambley
Anthony Dhanendran
Benjamin Howarth
Carl Bookstein
Chris O'Toole
Cila Warncke
Daniel Cressey
Darren Aston
Dave Goodwin
Denzil Watson
Dixie Ernill
Dominic B. Simpson
Eoghan Lyng
Fiona Hutchings
Harry Sherriff
Helen Tipping
Jamie Rowland
John Clarkson
Julie Cruickshank