“There must be thousands of girls like me dreaming of being a movie star. But I’m not going to worry about them. I’m dreaming the hardest.”
-Marilyn Monroe
Sarah Walker (Alex Essoe), the starry-eyed and bushy-tailed heroine of the 2014 body horror pic Starry Eyes would give ol’ Marilyn a run for her money. Her days are spent serving tater tots to middle-age sleazepiles. And nights? Squabbling with hopeful starlets and answering seedy casting calls. When Astraeus Pictures demands she perform a series of morally yucky behaviors in exchange for a role in their new fright flick, she reluctantly agrees. Her actions cause a change in her, both literally and figuratively.
For anyone who has ever aspired to do great things in their life, Starry Eyes will produce the sensation of butterflies in the belly and a whole lotta goose pimples on the flesh.
Our first meeting with Sarah is captured in close up, her cherry lips and ivory skin veiled by harsh light and sterile hues. The camera lingers on her as she examines her body for imperfections in the mirror, the soft curves of her figure lined by an unappealing bra and underwear. We should be aroused but are instead overcome by sorrow at the sight of the disenchanted actress too despondent to recognize her own beauty.
Moments later she’s at work, her thoughts and feelings buried alongside her round bottom and tight belly in a pair of leopard-skin yoga pants. The camera places us in the shoes (and behind the icky moustache) of her boss, forcing us to stare at length at her backside as she saunters across the room. Not two minutes into the movie and we’ve already seen Sarah in multiple states of undress. We know little about her other than she is sexy. There is a hurricane of emotions hollering within her, they just scream a little quieter than her gaudy stretch pants.
Click the link below to read my full review:
Celebrating 5 Years of “Starry Eyes”
