A Wonderful new wave camp classic,i normally don't really like musicals,but when i saw this back in the eighties i loved it. beautiful sexy Jo Kennedy plays an aspiring singer in Australia. her little cousin Angus,is her agent.campy fun movie with lots of great new wave musical numbers.pokes fun at the MGM musicals from the 40s and 50s.this was a little known,under-appreciated effort from down under. and seldom shown on TV.i don't think its out on DVD yet.but its a great movie.with colorful zany characters,its a cult film.Australia's greatest import since mad max.a must see for everyone even if your not into musicals like me.more then likely you will enjoy.10 out of 10.

Journalist Stephen Maclean was raised by his mother as she worked in a Melbourne pub and had an early career as a child actor. He wanted to make an Australian musical and ended up working with Gillian Armstrong (My Brilliant Career, the 1994 version of Little Women) and production designer Brian Thomson (The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Shock Treatment).

Despite being rated NRC (Not Recommended for Children) in its native Australia, the Jo Kennedy song "Body and Soul" (written by Tim Finn of Split Enz) went to #5 on the Australian charts.

Jackie Mullens (Kennedy) dreams of being a star while working in her mother's pub. Her young cousin Angus fancies himself her manager, so he gets her in front of The Wombats, a local band, and gets them on the road to appearing on The Wow! Show. That said, he promises that Jackie will walk a tight rope nude to get on, which ends up getting her sent to jail for the day.

Despite dating guitarist Robbie, she soon falls for the show's host and works on changing her sound to be more commercial. It fails, just as her deadbeat dad comes home and steals what little money her family has left.

Starstruck comes at an interesting time in the Australian movie industry, as three musicals - also including The Pirate Movie and The Return of Captain Invincible - were made between 1982 and 1983.

While this movie pretty much disappeared upon release in the U.S., it had a rental and cable audience that has kept it alive.

definitely one of cinema's best and under-recognized musical classics. i've loved this movie dearly since i first had the pleasure of seeing and hearing it back in 1982. unfortunately and obviously, i was one of the very few persons here in the States that did. throughout the decades i have always raved and tried to discuss this movie with cinema fans and fans of film musicals. it never fails to draw a blank with everyone. even to this day, there are only twenty reviewers of it on IMDb. compare with the hundreds of reviewers of say, 'High School Musical'. how sad. 'HSM' certainly isn't as bold or intelligent, it isn't even as much fun as this. and the music and dance numbers in 'HSM' aren't nearly as clever or good.

Jo Kennedy and Ross O'Donavan give some of the best performances i have ever seen by teen age actors. the 14 year old Donovan is hilarious and brilliant, giving a performance that is wise beyond his years, and the unexpectedly versatile Jo Kennedy is a marvel. not only is her performance comic and her singing off the chart, she also walks a tight rope. yes. literally walks tight rope. this was well before CGI effects and that is obviously her doing her own stunt.

in fact. the opening scene with O'Donvan encouraging Kennedy to walk a tight rope over a busy intersection wearing a bare breasted body suit, is so immediately engaging and side splittingly funny. i've seen few movies get this funny this fast.

anyone new to the musical 'Starstruck', may be surprised to find that this isn't just a cute and amusing film musical, but is also really good, low budget Aussie cinema. it often feels like what a musical would be like if it were directed by Peter Wier. it's musical numbers are extremely funny and in the example of the dance number "we all live like ants", very unconventional and innovative.

in fact this is one of the most unconventional musicals ever made. and it still continues to be more original than most, some thirty years later. most large budget fiasco's would do best to study how this simple film, on a very low budget, manages to be as clever and innovative and so charming with very little resource except inspiration.