Stardom

It may be the first movie that mirrors, in its very syntax, the ''snap crackle and pop'' narcotic superficiality of the E! channel. I mean that as a compliment.

In Arcand's skilled hands, this sassy assembly comes together to be a comedy, a satire and a character study that's somehow not a bit condescending.

For all the film's cleverness -- and it's often very clever -- it's as thin as its heroine.

Takes us down a familiar path without discovering anything new along the way.

Through a messy series of news reports, interviews, talk shows, and behind-the-scenes footage, Arcand creates a cinema vérité spoof that's not nearly as penetrating or enjoyable as he thinks.

Stardom makes its metaphor of 15 minutes seem like a lifetime.

Tells us nothing we didn't already know, and it tells it over and over and over.