The Karen Carpenter Story
The Karen Carpenter Story
NR | 01 January 1989 (USA)
The Karen Carpenter Story Trailers

Story of the meteoric rise and sudden fall of Karen Carpenter, who became a famous singer before battling anorexia and bulimia. This made-for-TV movie is the authorized version of the life of Karen Carpenter and was made with the approval of Richard Carpenter and the Carpenter family.

Reviews
Stometer Save your money for something good and enjoyable
Exoticalot People are voting emotionally.
Stephanie There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes
Ortiz Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.
steveglandon Nice review by Tom Barrister. Just finished reading Little Girl Blue, very interesting biography. This movie leaves out a lot of details, and glosses over a few major moments in Karen's life. Specifically, the extent to which she went to hide her anorexia (as someone said she was the most honest person except she would lie like a trooper about her anorexia), her solo album which was criticized by Richard among others and scrapped, and finally her disastrous marriage to a gold digging liar. As for lots being filmed then scrapped because of the family, Richard was an executive producer and guess he was trying to protect the family, especially his mother. I read somewhere the family was sorry they helped make the movie because they think it wasn't fair in parts. IMHO the movie does a good job overall portraying the success, talent (that voice!) and tragedy of KC. Like Tom Barrister said in his review, a voice like that comes along every few decades. ps my favorite song is Superstar. THAT VOICE!
nowvoyager This film was made soon enough after Karen's passing that perhaps Richard Carpenter and the people closest to Karen were feeling a little guilty as to how they may have contributed to her health problems. As the years have passed (almost 25 to be exact) it must have gotten easier to deny any complicity. Richard has spent the years after Karen's death endlessly remixing and recompiling the recordings he made with her. He married his cousin, Mary, and from what I have read, it looks like he may be planning a next generation Carpenters with his children. He seems to have regretted making this film,and that may very well be why it is unavailable in any form. It seemed to me to be a fairly honest assessment of the tragically short life and incredible talent that was Karen Carpenter.
giffey-1 One of the better made for TV biopics, I just wish it had told us more. I have read many biographies and seen other things about the Carpenters, and this movie did what it could, based on the constraints placed on it by the family. Cynthis Gibb did a wonderful job trying to bring Karen to life. One of my disappointments is that there was not more insight into Karen's anorexia. In the reading I have done about the disease (especially Cherry Boone O'Neill's wonderful book, Starving for Attention) anorexia appears to be a disease of control. Karen saw her weight as one thing in her life that she could control. She felt that she was being controlled in every other aspect of her life. Don't get me wrong, I believed she truly loved the music, but she felt she had little control over her career. She truly loved her family, but they did not express it well, and she didn't know how to make her family understand her. The film could have touched so much more on that. I treasure the music I have of the Carpenters and wish she was still alive to contribute more to music today.
pachl There is a clever little scene in The Karen Carpenter Story, where both Carpenters are in a recording studio, and Richard makes an impromptu decision to have Karen sing for the owner of the studio.Richard picks the wrong key for Karen to sing in, so Karen is singing above her natural range. You can see a look of bemusement on the owner's face; he figures she really can't sing. Richard quickly realizes his mistake and tries again in a different key. The next thing you hear is Karen's amazing, beautiful voice, and the owner does a priceless double take. Nicely done! For some reason, I have never forgotten that scene.The Karen Carpenter Story chronicles the meteoric rise of the Carpenters, and Karen's struggle to overcome anorexia. A lot of things are glossed over. This isn't a documentary, and the movie left me with a lot of questions. Very little is mentioned of Karen's solo venture (the CD was released only a few years ago. If you buy it, you will wonder why they waited. It's some of Karen's best work. The songs aren't as timeless as her work with brother Richard, but it was a great recording, in my opinion).I have heard it said that, you can be listening to a cheap, time-worn little radio in the middle of the Third World, that would seem to produce more static than anything else. But when a Carpenter song comes on the radio, you would think you were listening to a $1000 Hi-Fidelity unit.Watch this movie!
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