Star 80

She was every man’s dream – and one man’s obsession.

You spread open the pages of a magazine and there she is: Dorothy Stratten, Playmate of the Year, the kind of girl men might dream about when they take a break from reality.

But Paul Snider was different. He didn’t just dream about a girl like Dorothy. He found her, married her and helped her to become a star. And when Snider lost track of the line between dream and reality, his obsession with Dorothy turned into a nightmare.

Bob Fosse’s Star 80 is the powerful, harrowing story of Stratten and Snider. Based in part on Teresa Carpenter’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Village Voice article “Death of a Playmate,” Star 80 takes us through the sexual looking glass into a world where fantasy is big business – and a small time hustler can fool himself to death.

Mariel Hemingway plays the key role of Dorothy in a delicately balanced performance that blends sensuality and innocence. Cliff Robertson appears as Hugh Hefner, overseeing an empire of temptations that call forth the dark forces of Snider’s mind. And Carroll Baker co-stars as Dorothy’s mother, who tries to protect Dorothy from the lurid world which casts its spell over her.

Yet the true star of Star 80 is Eric Roberts. His portrayal of Snider is one of the year’s most original, authentic, hypnotic performances. He takes us deep into the secret life of a born loser – in Roberts’ words, “the type of character you may recognize wherever you go but not necessarily get involved with.”

Roberts’ research into the Stratten case also formed his judgment of her tragic flaw. “Obviously beautiful and sexy, she was nice, good, naive, an easy target for a man with the drive of a Paul Snider.”

Star 80 is a sad and savage film, an indictment that can’t be ignored – and an experience that won’t be easily forgotten.

This motion picture is, in part, a fictionalization of certain events and people involved in the lives of Dorothy Stratten and Paul Snider.