Star Maps (1997)

User Rating:

5.8/10   

Director:

Miguel Arteta

Writers:

Miguel Arteta (screenplay)
Miguel Arteta (story)

Release Date:

23 July 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

In Hollywood every dream has a price.

Plot:

Carlos wants to be an actor. But his father, Pepe, wants him to work in the family business, that is...

Plot Keywords:

Male Prostitution | Hollywood | Actor | Prostitution | Nudity

Awards:

1 win & 6 nominations

Cast

Douglas Spain	...	Carlos Amado
Efrain Figueroa	...	Pepe Amato
Kandeyce Jorden	...	Jennifer
Martha Velez	...	Teresa Amato
Lysa Flores	...	Maria Amato
Annette Murphy	...	Letti, Pepe's Girlfriend
Robin Thomas	...	Martin
Vincent Chandler	...	Juancito Amato
Al Vicente	...	Fred Marin
Herbert Siguenza	...	Cantinflas' Ghost
Jeffrey Sanna	...	Frank Rivers (as Jeff Sanna)
Jeff Michalski	...	Bartender
Zak Penn	...	Carmel County Writer
Alejandro Parra	...	Star Map Boy
Caesar Garcia	...	Star Map Boy

MPAA:

Rated R for strong sexuality and language, and for violence.

Runtime:

86 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Iceland:12 | South Korea:18 | Philippines:R-18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Flan de Coco Films

Messy and unfocused even if it does have enough going on to keep it all moving forward (unconvincingly)

Carlos is a young man with dreams of becoming an actor in Hollywood. However to get money and fill time until he hits it big, Carlos gets drawn back into his father's business which involves lots of young men selling maps to the homes of the stars – or rather using this as a front for acting as male prostitutes. When one of his clients offers him a bit part in her television show, Carlos takes the chance for a few lines to start him off. His father naturally objects and warns him that only him and his prostitution racket are what Carlos will ever have, but Carlos continues with his dream.

Despite having lots of things that it could focus on and therefore quite a bit of potential this film turns out to be rather a messy and unfocused affair that does enough to keep you watching without ever doing enough to grip or truly engage. It does this by simply keeping moving but for my money that was not enough; I wasn't really convinced by the world I was being shown – neither the gigolo world or the opportunities that Carlos got as a result of it. The two didn't sit well together and I didn't think Carlos suited either of them as a character either. Failing to convince me or engage me meant that I never got into the characters or their stories so, no matter what happens in the film, I honestly never cared for any of them enough to stick with it.

The cast try hard but most of them are just left trying without the material to work with. Spain was surprisingly good but his character was unconvincing and there was only so much he could do with it by himself. Figueroa is larger than life but again the material doesn't allow him to be a person. The support cast all have the same problems, all of them are trying hard but the material allows the audience to remain apathetic about them and their fate and their performances are diminished as a result.

Overall this is an interesting enough film but it tries to do too much and succeeds in none of them. The main failure is that it is never convincing enough to engage and, although it never drags, it is certainly difficult to care about all the things that are happening. Distracting then, but certainly not a "good" movie.