Movies without heart or soul usually put me in a deep funk. Such is the case with Maps to the Stars, an ugly film about several Hollywood characters with no saving graces. The rambling story concerns an insecure actress haunted by the ghost of her famous movie star mother, an obnoxious child star and his equally unappealing parents, and a burn-scarred sibling searching for her younger brother. Incest, murder, jealousy, ambition, lust, hate and greed come to the boiling point here amid an atmosphere of impending doom. With not one character to care for, viewing this film becomes a dreary task indeed.  

Directed by David Cronenberg (A History of Violence) and written by Bruce Wagner (Women in Film), Maps to the Stars features an excellent cast including Oscar winner Julianne Moore (Still Alice) as the disturbed actress, Evan Bird (Chained) as the spoiled child star, John Cusack (The Numbers Station) and Olivia Williams (Hyde Park on Hudson) as selfish parents, and Mia Wasikowska (Alice in Wonderland) as the sister with physical and emotional scars. Robert Pattinson (Water for Elephants) shows up a few times as a limo driver with a Hollywood agenda of his own.

If the mission given to cast members involved depicting the worst of human nature, then mission accomplished, for sure -- excluding Carrie Fisher (Star Wars), who appears briefly as herself trying to help one of the main characters land a job in Tinseltown.    

Maps to the Stars

is not way cool.

It’s filled with folks

who are too cruel.

Hollywood types

so self-absorbed

that watching them

leaves one quite bored.

I wonder why

actors would pick

a film like this.

It’s sad and sick.

“Comedy” claim  

the PR guys.

But if you laugh

I’d be surprised.

Drama, drama

everywhere.

And ghosts thrown in

for a cheap scare.

Gross sequences

too crude to tell.

Violence rules.

That helps it sell.

Can you be saved

from feeling low?

Yes, find yourself

a different show.      

(Released by Focus Features and rated “R” for strong disturbing violence and sexual content, graphic nudity, language and drug material.)

For more information about Maps to the Stars, go to the IMDb or Rotten Tomatoes website.