Synopsis
Stella Street is a quiet, residential street in suburban England, which becomes a haven forcelebrities seeking refuge from fame. It has been so since the 60s, when the Beatles and RichardBurton roomed here. Long-term resident Michael Caine is our guide through the community,where a flood of new arrivals (Al Pacino, Jack Nicholson, David Bowie, Madonna, Mick Jagger,and so forth) arrive. They think they’ve found their utopia, but their simple lives will soon bedisrupted.
…
Phil Cornwell and John Sessions do all the impersonations (though Madonna is handled byRonni Ancona), as well as incarnating the bizarre locals. The results are mixed. The MichaelCaine is spookily convincing, but Mick Jagger comes across as an unrecognizable drag queen,and so it goes. The premise is enough for a halfway decent comic sketch, but is hard to take asa feature length film.
Audio
The sound is 2.0, not the indicated 5.1, but the difference is academic, since there is virtuallyno surround, except during some of the music score. The absence isn’t really felt, since it couldbe argued that the mockumentary would be hindered, rather than helped, but a fully immersivescore (though, it must be said, Incident at Loch Ness does quite well with moreimpressive sound design).
Video
The 2.35:1 transfer has excellent colours and contrasts, not to mention equally fine blacksand flesh tones. There is no grain, and the image is very sharp (though it stops just short ofperfection in this regard).
Special Features
Cornwell and Sessions enjoy their film very much, as is evident from their commentary,which spends too much time pointing out the obvious. Apart from trailers, all the other extras(some 3 featurettes and one collection of interviews) are just more mockumentary stuff with the“celebrities” and other characters being interviewed about the movie, the corner store. The menuis fully animated and scored.
Closing Thoughts
Personally, I find this to be a one-joke concept, stretched to the breaking point andbeyond.
Special Features List
- Audio Commentary
- In-Character Interviews
- Trailers
