Star! (1968)

What makes Star! special is the way it turns a showbiz biography into a full-bodied, big-studio musical experience—lavish, theatrical, and made with the kind of craftsmanship you can practically feel in the sets, costumes, and camera movements Robert Wise orchestrates with calm confidence. Julie Andrews doesn’t just play Gertrude Lawrence; she inhabits her with a performer’s intelligence and a bruised glamour, letting the songs and the silences tell you how applause can become both fuel and wound. The movie’s vibe is all backstage bustle and spotlight shimmer, with choreography and a score that keep pulling you back into the intoxicating rhythm of rehearsals, opening nights, and reinvention. It’s not for everyone—its length and old-school showbiz sweep ask you to settle in, and the constant drinking can feel sobering rather than cute—but if you want a romantic, bittersweet tribute to what it costs to be “on,” it’s a handsome, heartfelt evening at the movies.

Star! is clearly aiming for a big, glossy, old-school showbiz biography—part tribute to Gertrude Lawrence, part showcase for Julie Andrews, with lavish numbers and a “the stage costs you everything” arc. The problem is it’s so long and self-important that the drama often feels padded, and the character portrait never quite snaps into focus, which makes the emotional beats land softer than the movie wants. If you’re not already patient with 1960s roadshow pacing, theatrical melodrama, and a lot of drinking-as-personality, this can feel like an elephantine slog rather than a rousing rise-and-fall. Still, if you come for Andrews’ professionalism, the period production values, and a handful of classic-stage moments, there’s enough polish to make it a respectable, if lumbering, watch.