Everybody Famous!
Written and directed by Dominique Deruddere
Starring Josse De Pauw, Eva Van Der Gucht, Werner De Smedt, Thelka Reuten,
Viktor Lvw.
Welcome to Europop, Flemish translation. Factory worker and family man Jean (De Pauw) wants, nay, believes his overweight, awkward daughter Marva (Van Der Gucht) to be the next Flemish singing star. Unfortunately the judges of local talent contests “fail to recognize” Marva’s talents, and only Jean’s mate Willy (De Smedt) appreciates his musical compositions. Things take a turn for the worse when the bottle factory closes and Jean and Willy don’t dare tell their women. Taking advantage of a chance encounter, Jean kidnaps national singing sensation and would-be mechanic Debbie (Reuten), planning to use the ransom money to produce a CD showcasing Marva.
Up to this point, the film is a little painful, as we watch the bumbling daughter on stage and the bumbling kidnappers at their hideaway, but fortunately a bit more plot and a touch of cleverness kicks in when Debbie’s manager, the sleazy but very industry-savvy Michael (Lvw) starts manipulating Jean right back, promising to make his daughter a star.
Jean is very much the centre of this film, De Pauw making him a believable character in an implausible plot, which works in the way that events start building up around him. This is perhaps to the detriment of other character development though; we know very little about Marva and she remains little more than a pawn in everybody’s game.
It’s still not very complicated, but turns into a bit of fun, with not a few cynical jabs at television stardom, particularly that peculiar European ‘variety show,’ and a touch of local hero blue-collar-boys making good, not to mention a good dose of pro-Flemish sentiment.
S.L.
