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Article: Private Parts.
- Article from:
- National Review
- Article date:
- April 21, 1997
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1997 National Review, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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WHAT makes a star? Why do crowds fall in love with A rather than B, when the sober observer can see no difference, and may even find both insipid or distasteful? Two new movies, however obliquely or indeed unconsciously, address this topic.
Private Parts, based on Howard Stern's first quasi-autobiography, is amusing and goes down all too smoothly. It is the story of a father-bossed, gangly Jewish youth from Long Island, who evolves into an enormously popular disc jockey. I am at a disadvantage here, never having seen Stern on TV or heard him on radio; the more outrageous, Sterner stuff is soft-pedaled in the movie. Some find this craven and dishonest; I myself am not ...