Brenda StarrFemale journalists in the 1940s we only allowed to cover soft news, like, who designed J. Edgar Hoover's ball gown?Except for the spunky stringer in this action movie, that is.An artist inserts himself into his own comic strip when his ace reporter character Brenda Starr (Brooke Shields) threatens to leave the series.Through an avatar (Timothy Dalton) the artist is allowed to enter the Amazonian rainforest alongside the intrepid newshawk as she searches for a scientist with a secret formula being sought by an enemy spy (Jeffrey Tambor) and Brenda's long-time adversary Libby Lipscomb (Diana Scarwid).Despite being a forerunner of the early-1990s comic-strip movie craze, this 1989 adaptation of the long-running daily is often overlooked. But rest assured, it's as poorly acted, horribly scripted and as campy as all the others of the short-lived sub-genre.Unfortunately, nowadays, Brenda's jungle adventure would be reduced to a travel blog. Red Lightvidiotreviews.blogspot.ca

Brenda Starr is a wonky, wacky, campy good time at the movies. Based on the classic comic strip, this movie captures all of the fun and innocence that saturated the childhoods of the seventies. Brenda Starr, brilliantly portrayed by the effervescent Brooke Shields, is a reporter who goes that extra mile for a good story, and when she gets fed up with the artist who draws her, he jumps into her comic strip world of instant outfit changes and convenient plot segues and helps her on her newest search for a scoop.This movie blends real story with caricature quirk and you will not be able to stop smiling from start to finish. The movie is aware of how ridiculous some of the misadventures are and instead of looking the other way it playfully points it out. Brenda Starr is a hidden gem that should be viewed by children and adults everywhere. It is reminiscent of The Goonies and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Both silly and over the top and completely lovable. 8.5/10

Let me start off first by saying that this movie is not very good but I would put it against other movies of the same era and say that it is better than average.It certainly doesn't deserve the bad rap that it has gotten over the years and isn't a terrible movie either, however. I'm not sure why so many people hate this film. The direction, writing and acting are all just fine.Brooke Shields looks great and does a fair enough job of playing the main character.The story is also very unique and fun with her literally coming out of the comic strip as a real life character. Maybe the strangeness of that turns some people off.But it's a fun movie and worth seeing... if you can find it that is, it's not super well known or loved!

What the hell were the people behind "Brenda Starr" thinking (or were they even thinking to being with) when they made this…film based on the long-running, now-defunct newspaper comic strip by the late Dale Messick? Sure, comic strips, let alone comic books, weren't treated seriously then (Hollywood still had the Man of Steel on their brains), but if you make a film based on a fictional, antiquated female reporter (thanks, Gloria Steinhem), you have an embarrassing cine-wreck.In the supposed real world, comic strip artist Mike Randall (Tony Peck, son of the Oscar-winning legend Gregory) toils on the "Brenda Starr" strip for Messick. In an odd fourth-wall smashing fashion, Starr (Brooke Shields, "The Blue Lagoon") refuses to be drawn by Randall and "quits". Randall, in some unexplainable way (one of the film's problems), goes into the strip to convince Starr to return before the deadline. She's busy, though, with tracking down a scientist in Puerto Rico and Brazil. Seems the egghead has invented a unique rocket fuel that has attracted both a bumbling band of Russian spies (What? No Nazis?) and Starr's rival newshound, Libby "Lips" Lipscomb (Diana Scarwid of "Mommie Dearest").Intrigued? If not, congratulations. You have better sense than me, who saw the film for free and still wants the 94 minutes of my life back! The. . .film tries to be cute and campy so much, it descends.Directed ineptly by Robert Ellis Miller, who used an obviously first draft script by James David Buchanan, Noreen Stone & Jenny Wolkind (a pseudonym for Delia Ephron, Nora's sister), "Starr" dims to black than shines, from start to end, especially from the start. After the women's liberation movement, the novelty of a female reporter seems dated, and those who know and enjoyed Brenda Starr are either dead or collecting Social Security. Who the hell is supposed to watch this film, let alone enjoy it? Casting then-hot fashion model Shields as the title role was a bad attempt to get young audiences. The fact she goes through silly, implausible costume changes (I didn't bother to count how many. Sorry, Bob Mackie!) did next to nothing to help her in a flat, cardboard role. It's not one of her best moments. Doe-eyed Peck's no help, awkwardly being both comic relief and potential love interest. When he tries to make Starr utter a foul profane word, instead of "jeepers", it comes off a fact to the film's datedness. Also of no real use, aside of being beefcake with a eye-patch, is the dashing, mysterious Basil St. John (a pre-James Bond Timothy Dalton) who captures Starr's heart. At least poor Ms. Scarwid shares the sentiment of any unfortunate viewer when referring to Starr: "Oh! I wish I could kill her!" Interestingly, the film was shelved to distribution disputes before premiering in 1986. Three years later, it bowed in France, where Shields was popular. Another three years, it came back here and bombed, without much publicity and wallowing in the shadows of better comic book/strip adaptations. If anything can learn from watching "Brenda Starr", it's to make a better film involving a more interesting female comic book/strip character (Paging Wonder Woman…).