Rating: 
Summary: Everybody's Entertained
Review: "Everybody's Famous" is one of the best films released in 2000. It rightfully earned an Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Film(Belgium). Its plot is highly catchy and funny. Its highly creative scenes keep everyone's interest the whole time. Its plot about a father, whose family is in poverty, who will do anything to make his daughter famous keeps everyone's eyes wide open, especially while he's taking action. The plot of the #1 singing sensation's kidnapping builds to a fine climax and conlusion. In average movies, such chain of events would never work. The writer's brilliance makes every scene fit as one movie. The acting is wonderful. Everyone offers their own humor and seriousness in the right times. The song "Lucky Manuelo" has a great unforgettable rhythm that should have become a hit in real life. "Everybody's Famous" is a great comedy for those looking for something unique. This will please many during and after viewing.
Rating:
Summary: Everybody's Entertained
Review: "Everybody's Famous" is one of the best films released in 2000. It rightfully earned an Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Film(Belgium). Its plot is highly catchy and funny. Its highly creative scenes keep everyone's interest the whole time. Its plot about a father, whose family is in poverty, who will do anything to make his daughter famous keeps everyone's eyes wide open, especially while he's taking action. The plot of the #1 singing sensation's kidnapping builds to a fine climax and conlusion. In average movies, such chain of events would never work. The writer's brilliance makes every scene fit as one movie. The acting is wonderful. Everyone offers their own humor and seriousness in the right times. The song "Lucky Manuelo" has a great unforgettable rhythm that should have become a hit in real life. "Everybody's Famous" is a great comedy for those looking for something unique. This will please many during and after viewing.
Rating:
Summary: Everybody's Entertained
Review: "Everybody's Famous" is one of the best films released in 2000. It rightfully earned an Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Film(Belgium). Its plot is highly catchy and funny. Its highly creative scenes keep everyone's interest the whole time. Its plot about a father, whose family is in poverty, who will do anything to make his daughter famous keeps everyone's eyes wide open, especially while he's taking action. The plot of the #1 singing sensation's kidnapping builds to a fine climax and conlusion. In average movies, such chain of events would never work. The writer's brilliance makes every scene fit as one movie. The acting is wonderful. Everyone offers their own humor and seriousness in the right times. The song "Lucky Manuelo" has a great unforgettable rhythm that should have become a hit in real life. "Everybody's Famous" is a great comedy for those looking for something unique. This will please many during and after viewing.
Rating:
Summary: Everybody's Famous
Review: I rented this movie the other night, and I wasn't sure if it'd like it, being that it's a foreign flim. I thought it might be hard to understand and very boring. But I couldn't have been more wrong. The only real reason I picked it up was because of it's Oscar nomination, and I'm glad I did. It wasn't hard to understand at all and wasn't the little bit boring. The story is about a loving father would is desperate to do to anything to make his daughter a star. Including kidnapping the country's most popular singer. And what are his demands? Making the singer's producer make a hit song for his daughter. The story is adorable and humorous, and I recommend it to everybody.
Rating: 
Summary: Those amusing Belgians......
Review: In Europe, the Belgians are generally held to be the butt of jokes, especially by their French neighbours, in the same way that the English are always making Irish jokes. However in recent years there have been a number of films that have come from that little country which have shown a dark and wicked humour. This film, while not quite as original as the hilarious "The Carriers are Waiting" does have enough camp humour to keep viewers entertained.Working at a bottle factory, Dad has dreams for his not-so-talented daughter, who is forever coming last in the local talent contests. He also believes he has a pop hit on his hands, with a tune that he has been humming. As chance would have it, he comes across .... What follows is a mostly funny, sometimes cruel look at the notion of celebrity and the lengths people will go to in order to achieve it - a natural bedfellow, though not in the same class as Scorcese's "King of Comedy". The humour is not terribly subtle but scores in the talent show scenes, especially the Michael Jackson lookalike and the blacken-faced man who does Otis Redding and also with Marva, the daughter, .... That aside, it is an entertaining diversion in the same way as "Muriel's Wedding" was, and I dare you not to hum 'Lucky Manuelo' days after watching this!
Rating:
Summary: Charming movie about following that dream
Review: In looking at the blue-haired Debbie on the cover, one might think, "Oh great, a bimbo picture for teenagers and young people." Think again--this is a quirky but refreshing feature from Belgium, set in Flanders. And by the way, Debbie's actually a stunning brunette with a great personality. As for our cover girl, that's Debbie, the #1 pop sensation who's sold more records than the Beatles, Elvis, and Michael Jackson combined. Yet she seems more interested in car mechanics rather than singing, much to the chagrin of her promoter Michael. Jean Vereecken, a worker at a bottle factory in his mid-forties, has dreams of becoming a songwriter, and thinks his daughter Marva is a talented singer. He writes songs for her but his efforts are underappreciated by his down-to-earth wife Chantal and totally unappreciated by Marva, who is irritated. Part of that comes from a lack of confidence. She is nineteen, a bit on the portly side, isn't exactly fashion model pretty, and doesn't have much of a life. Consequently, she gets low marks at the lookalike singing contests. A crisis comes when the bottle factory goes bankrupt and all the workers get the sack. What to do? Jean's unemployment will cause him to lose more face in the eyes of his family. Jean's younger co-worker Willy, is financially supporting his girlfriend Liz, who is going to college. Any genuine feelings towards him are conspicuous by their absence. His unemployment means Liz will have to pay her own way, and that's the last thing he wants. It's only when Debbie meets the downtrodden Jean that things begin to click a notch, and sets into motion a hairbrained scheme that draws in Willy and Michael. Of the stars, Josse de Pauw succeeds as Jean, trying so hard, maybe too hard to please his daughter and gain her love at whatever cost. His singing attempts are clumsy but given his enthusiasm and joy at finding what he thinks is a winner is so encouraging. And if genuinely pretty and pleasant women--as opposed to fashion-model pretty--like Thekla Reuten (Debbie) were in plenty supply, this world would be a better place. Victor Low (Michael) does a great job as a savvy businessman who's a master at artist promotion and publicity gimmicks. And Werner de Smedt plays Willy as someone who's actually sensitive and that part of him is drawn out later involving Jean's scheme. The homages to 80's music was fun for me, as well as the lookalike contests. And there's a funny bit involving (kind of) Michael Jackson. The songs done here (not by the original artists) are Vanessa Paradis's "Be My Baby," Queen's "I Want To Break Free," and Madonna's "Material Girl." As for the title, it's a reference to why everybody wants to be famous. Yes, it is to escape an ordinary life, but what is the result? Part of the answer comes from Debbie and involves talent. She is talented, therefore she didn't have to sleep with any managers to get to the top. And for those real-life girl singers today and yesterday who weren't talented but made it to the top? I wonder how many of those there are. An entertaining comedy-drama that also explores the importance of being what one wants to be in one's heart, but also fighting the odds to discover that one precious dream, trying to rise above an anonymous crowd. Jean, Marva, and Debbie do just that in this charming movie.
Rating:
Summary: Charming movie about following that dream
Review: In looking at the blue-haired Debbie on the cover, one might think, "Oh great, a bimbo picture for teenagers and young people." Think again--this is a quirky but refreshing feature from Belgium, set in Flanders. And by the way, Debbie's actually a stunning brunette with a great personality. As for our cover girl, that's Debbie, the #1 pop sensation who's sold more records than the Beatles, Elvis, and Michael Jackson combined. Yet she seems more interested in car mechanics rather than singing, much to the chagrin of her promoter Michael. Jean Vereecken, a worker at a bottle factory in his mid-forties, has dreams of becoming a songwriter, and thinks his daughter Marva is a talented singer. He writes songs for her but his efforts are underappreciated by his down-to-earth wife Chantal and totally unappreciated by Marva, who is irritated. Part of that comes from a lack of confidence. She is nineteen, a bit on the portly side, isn't exactly fashion model pretty, and doesn't have much of a life. Consequently, she gets low marks at the lookalike singing contests. A crisis comes when the bottle factory goes bankrupt and all the workers get the sack. What to do? Jean's unemployment will cause him to lose more face in the eyes of his family. Jean's younger co-worker Willy, is financially supporting his girlfriend Liz, who is going to college. Any genuine feelings towards him are conspicuous by their absence. His unemployment means Liz will have to pay her own way, and that's the last thing he wants. It's only when Debbie meets the downtrodden Jean that things begin to click a notch, and sets into motion a hairbrained scheme that draws in Willy and Michael. Of the stars, Josse de Pauw succeeds as Jean, trying so hard, maybe too hard to please his daughter and gain her love at whatever cost. His singing attempts are clumsy but given his enthusiasm and joy at finding what he thinks is a winner is so encouraging. And if genuinely pretty and pleasant women--as opposed to fashion-model pretty--like Thekla Reuten (Debbie) were in plenty supply, this world would be a better place. Victor Low (Michael) does a great job as a savvy businessman who's a master at artist promotion and publicity gimmicks. And Werner de Smedt plays Willy as someone who's actually sensitive and that part of him is drawn out later involving Jean's scheme. The homages to 80's music was fun for me, as well as the lookalike contests. And there's a funny bit involving (kind of) Michael Jackson. The songs done here (not by the original artists) are Vanessa Paradis's "Be My Baby," Queen's "I Want To Break Free," and Madonna's "Material Girl." As for the title, it's a reference to why everybody wants to be famous. Yes, it is to escape an ordinary life, but what is the result? Part of the answer comes from Debbie and involves talent. She is talented, therefore she didn't have to sleep with any managers to get to the top. And for those real-life girl singers today and yesterday who weren't talented but made it to the top? I wonder how many of those there are. An entertaining comedy-drama that also explores the importance of being what one wants to be in one's heart, but also fighting the odds to discover that one precious dream, trying to rise above an anonymous crowd. Jean, Marva, and Debbie do just that in this charming movie.
Rating:
Summary: Charming movie about following that dream
Review: In looking at the blue-haired Debbie on the cover, one might think, "Oh great, a bimbo picture for teenagers and young people." Think again--this is a quirky but refreshing feature from Belgium, set in Flanders. And by the way, Debbie's actually a stunning brunette with a great personality. As for our cover girl, that's Debbie, the #1 pop sensation who's sold more records than the Beatles, Elvis, and Michael Jackson combined. Yet she seems more interested in car mechanics rather than singing, much to the chagrin of her promoter Michael. Jean Vereecken, a worker at a bottle factory in his mid-forties, has dreams of becoming a songwriter, and thinks his daughter Marva is a talented singer. He writes songs for her but his efforts are underappreciated by his down-to-earth wife Chantal and totally unappreciated by Marva, who is irritated. Part of that comes from a lack of confidence. She is nineteen, a bit on the portly side, isn't exactly fashion model pretty, and doesn't have much of a life. Consequently, she gets low marks at the lookalike singing contests. A crisis comes when the bottle factory goes bankrupt and all the workers get the sack. What to do? Jean's unemployment will cause him to lose more face in the eyes of his family. Jean's younger co-worker Willy, is financially supporting his girlfriend Liz, who is going to college. Any genuine feelings towards him are conspicuous by their absence. His unemployment means Liz will have to pay her own way, and that's the last thing he wants. It's only when Debbie meets the downtrodden Jean that things begin to click a notch, and sets into motion a hairbrained scheme that draws in Willy and Michael. Of the stars, Josse de Pauw succeeds as Jean, trying so hard, maybe too hard to please his daughter and gain her love at whatever cost. His singing attempts are clumsy but given his enthusiasm and joy at finding what he thinks is a winner is so encouraging. And if genuinely pretty and pleasant women--as opposed to fashion-model pretty--like Thekla Reuten (Debbie) were in plenty supply, this world would be a better place. Victor Low (Michael) does a great job as a savvy businessman who's a master at artist promotion and publicity gimmicks. And Werner de Smedt plays Willy as someone who's actually sensitive and that part of him is drawn out later involving Jean's scheme. The homages to 80's music was fun for me, as well as the lookalike contests. And there's a funny bit involving (kind of) Michael Jackson. The songs done here (not by the original artists) are Vanessa Paradis's "Be My Baby," Queen's "I Want To Break Free," and Madonna's "Material Girl." As for the title, it's a reference to why everybody wants to be famous. Yes, it is to escape an ordinary life, but what is the result? Part of the answer comes from Debbie and involves talent. She is talented, therefore she didn't have to sleep with any managers to get to the top. And for those real-life girl singers today and yesterday who weren't talented but made it to the top? I wonder how many of those there are. An entertaining comedy-drama that also explores the importance of being what one wants to be in one's heart, but also fighting the odds to discover that one precious dream, trying to rise above an anonymous crowd. Jean, Marva, and Debbie do just that in this charming movie.
Rating:
Summary: GIGGLED ALL THE WAY HOME
Review: MY WIFE AND I KEPT BREAKING OUT INTO FITS OF HYSTERICAL LAUGHTER AS WE WALKED HOME FROM THE THEATRE. IT IS THE FUNNIEST MOVIE WE HAVE SEEN IN YEARS. WE ALSO KEEP HUMMING LUCKY MANUELO.
Rating:
Summary: GIGGLED ALL THE WAY HOME
Review: MY WIFE AND I KEPT BREAKING OUT INTO FITS OF HYSTERICAL LAUGHTER AS WE WALKED HOME FROM THE THEATRE. IT IS THE FUNNIEST MOVIE WE HAVE SEEN IN YEARS. WE ALSO KEEP HUMMING LUCKY MANUELO.
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