Stars of Tomorrow No. 1: A Rough Look at Early Amateur Variety

Is this actually worth your time?

Honestly? Only if you have a weird fascination with the history of variety shows or really enjoy watching people stumble through awkward routines. If you’re looking for polished entertainment, skip it. If you want to see how hard it is to translate a stage act to film, you might find it weirdly interesting. Most people will probably find it kind of painful.

Ted Claire plays the master of ceremonies, and he carries this strange, stiff energy that never really settles down. It’s like he’s trying to convince us we’re at a high-end gala, but we’re actually stuck in a room that feels like it’s barely holding together. 🎭

There is this one moment where a performer looks directly into the lens and you can just feel the panic. It’s not even that they’re bad—they’re just so uncomfortable that I wanted to look away. It reminds me of the pacing issues in The Ghost Talks, where everything just feels a bit too static.

The whole thing feels like a time capsule of bad ideas. It’s definitely not as smooth as Girls About Town, which at least knows what it wants to be. Here, the transitions between acts are just jarring. One minute you’re watching a song, the next you’re watching someone try to tell a joke that doesn't land.

Oddly Specific Notes:

• The lighting in the background seems to shift randomly for no reason.
• There’s a guy in the back of one shot who just stands there for four minutes straight.
• Someone forgot to hide their script notes under the chair.
• The audio quality dips whenever the performer tries to get loud.

It’s not trying to be high art, but it also isn’t really fun in a campy way. It just exists. It’s a bit like watching a home movie of strangers who are desperately trying to be stars. Sometimes it’s sweet, but mostly it’s just exhausting. 🥱

I caught myself checking my watch about halfway through. It doesn't have the charm of something like Mother Goose Land, which at least leans into its own absurdity. This movie just feels like it's trying way too hard to be a real production while lacking the budget or the talent to pull it off. I don't think I'll ever need to watch this again, but hey, it's a weird piece of history for sure.