Superstar (movie)
Superstar is a 1999 comedy movie and Saturday Night Live (SNL) spin-off. It is about a quirky, socially incompetent girl called Mary Katherine Gallagher. The character was created by the SNL star Molly Shannon. She was a recurring character on SNL in many skits. The story is about Mary Katherine trying to find her place in her Catholic high school. The movie was directed by a former Kids in the Hall member, Bruce McCulloch.
| Superstar | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Bruce McCulloch |
| Produced by | Lorne Michaels |
| Written by | Steve Koren |
| Starring | Molly Shannon Will Ferrell Harland Williams Elaine Hendrix Tom Green Mark McKinney |
| Music by | Michael Gore (Song: You Wanna Be A Star) |
| Cinematography | Walt Lloyd |
| Edited by | Malcolm Campbell |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
Release date | October 8, 1999 |
Running time | 81 min |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $14,000,000 |
| Box office | $30,636,478 |
The movie stars the following people:
- Molly Shannon
- Will Ferrell
- Harland Williams
- Elaine Hendrix
Mark McKinney, who appeared in many of the Mary Katherine Gallagher SNL skits on television, also has a minor role as a priest.
Molly Shannon got a nomination for Blockbuster Entertainment Award "Favorite Actress - Comedy", but lost to Heather Graham in Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me.
Plot
Mary Katherine Gallagher (Shannon) is an Irish-American Catholic school girl and social outcast in a Catholic high school. She wants to be a superstar, as she wants to get a kiss from Sky Corrigan (Ferrell). When Mary is sent to Special Education, she makes a new best friend, the tomboyish and equally socially-awkward Helen Lewengrub (Emmy Laybourne).
Mary sees her chance to become a superstar when her school promotes a talent show. She wants to try out, but Grandma Gallagher (Glynis Johns), did not want her to. Mary tries out anyway, and when she goes to sign up, a stereotypical cheerleader, Evian Carrie Graham (Elaine Hendrix), gets into a fight with her. The fight causes Evian and Sky to break up, and now Sky is a "single hunk of beefcake on the rebound". Mary is now determined to get in the talent show so Sky will notice her. When Grandma Gallagher finds out that her granddaughter got into the talent show, she finally tells the truth about how her parents died - they were stomped to death while performing in a Riverdance-like competition. That is why Grandma Gallagher was against her granddaughter performing.
However, Grandma Gallagher decides to help Mary do her act in the talent show, as long as she performs for herself. Mary and the other Special Education students spent days practicing. Mary wins the competition as well as Sky's heart. When she kisses Sky though, she discovers he is a horrible kisser and chooses to kiss her friend Slater (Harland Williams) instead.
Cast
| Actor | Character |
|---|---|
| Molly Shannon | Mary Katherine Gallagher |
| Will Ferrell | Sky Corrigan/Jesus |
| Harland Williams | Eric Slater |
| Elaine Hendrix | Evian Graham |
| Mark McKinney | Father Tylenol Ritley |
| Glynis Johns | Grandma Gallagher |
| Jason Blicker | Howard |
| Gerry Bamman | Father John Insomnic |
| Emmy Laybourne | Helen |
| Jennifer Irwin | Maria |
| Rob Stefaniuk | Thomas Smith |
| Natalie Radford | Autumn Winters |
| Karyn Dwyer | Summer Falls |
| Tom Green | Dylan |
| Chuck Campbell | Owen |