Everybody's Famous

As this Flemish import illustrates, movies about blue collar dreamers and flamboyant misfits are perhaps best left to Great Britain and Australia. While audiences pulled for the characters in such films as The Full Monty and Muriel's Wedding, that's not the case with factory worker and aspiring songwriter Jean Vereecken (Josse de Pauw) and his plain, heavy-set daughter Marva (Eve van der Gucht), whom he grooms for pop stardom despite no discernable talent. Opportunity knocks when Jean encounters weary and disillusioned pop sensation Debbie (Thekla Reuten), whose first love is actually auto repair. When Jean kidnaps Debbie and demands that her sleazy manager record his daughter singing one of his songs, this (inexplicable) Oscar nominee for Best Foreign Film has to jump through hoops to ensure an improbable happy ending for all. Not recommended. (K. Lee Benson)