We're So Famous

April 1, 2001
In its attempt to skewer our obsession with celebrity culture, this trifle of a tale about three teenage girls and their quest for fame and fortune only manages to injure itself. Narrated in three parts, the novel follows the exploits of Paque, Stella and Daisy, talentless teenagers from Phoenix, Ariz., with an overwhelming desire for fame. Obsessed with the British girl group Bananarama (Paque and Daisy are avid '80s aficionados), the two record an amateur single that gains notoriety when they are linked to a local murder case. But this plot line is abandoned, and their singing career goes nowhere following a disastrous live performance. Stella, a struggling actress living in Hollywood, works in a dinner theater reenacting celebrity deaths (her obsession) with her new boyfriend, an actor who can't get beyond failed television pilots. Paque and Daisy join her in Hollywood to work on a no-budget movie with a no-name director. Will Paque and Daisy hit the big time? Will Stella's stalking of bad-boy rocker Bryan Metro bear fruit? Will readers be at all amused by the book's incessant name-dropping, pop culture factoids and the postmodern trick of slipping screenplays and faux fan letters into the narrative? Not likely although those who find Nick Hornby and Bret Easton Ellis too challenging might be engaged for a moment or two. Satire needs to be smarter than its subject, and unfortunately this fable is neither wicked nor clever enough to wade out from the shallows it purports to spoof. (Apr. 9) Forecast: A blurb from Ellis probably won't do much to boost sales after the first 15 minutes, and it's hard to tell who the intended audience is: readers under 30 won't be familiar with much of the '80s arcana and those over 30 won't have the patience for the puerile protagonists.