Movies Like Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story (1987)

Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story is a 1987 drama, music film from Todd Haynes with a MovieMagicScore of 7.0/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with God Help the Girl and To the Bone.

Drama Music

God Help the Girl

2014

Eve is a catastrophe—low on self-esteem but high on fantasy, especially when it comes to music. Over the course of one Glasgow summer, she meets two similarly rootless souls: posh Cass and fastidious James, and together they form a group.

6.5

MagicScore

To the Bone

2017

A young woman dealing with anorexia meets an unconventional doctor who challenges her to face her condition and embrace life.

7.2

MagicScore

Don't Worry, I'm Fine

2006

A 19-year-old searches for her twin brother after he runs away from home, following a fight with their father.

7.2

MagicScore

Body

2015

A busy attorney, worried that his anorexic daughter Olga, who is still grieving her recently deceased mother, might try to harm herself, sends her to see a psychiatrist who's dealing with her own loss in an unusual way.

6.2

MagicScore

Maledimiele

2012

Maledimiele tells the story of Sara, a teenage girl who sinks – slowly but inevitably – into the abyss of anorexia.

6.1

MagicScore

Compulsion

2013

A strange and destructive relationship develops between a chef and her neighbor, a former child actress.

4.4

MagicScore

Life Is Sweet

1990

Just north of London live Wendy, Andy, and their twenty-something twins, Natalie and Nicola. Wendy clerks in a shop, Andy is a cook who forever puts off home remodeling projects, Natalie is a plumber and Nicola is jobless. This film is about how they interact and play out family, conflict and love.

7.0

MagicScore

Sharing the Secret

2000

A teenage girl, who feels she must always seem happy for her parents and friends, secretly binges and purges.

6.3

MagicScore

The Hole

2001

Four teenagers at a British private school secretly uncover and explore the depths of a sealed underground hole created decades ago as a possible bomb shelter.

6.2

MagicScore

#10

Likeness

2013

For Mia, beauty is everything. A trophy, a promise, a ball and chain, a wish upon a star. A life sentence.

6.1

MagicScore

#11

Trash Fire

2016

Owen and Isabel's love story simmers with spiteful rage and unfortunately for everyone, Isabel is pregnant with Owen's child. To prove to her that he can become a stable father, Owen agrees to reconnect with his only living relatives at Isabel's request. The couple take a trip to visit his perversely devoted grandmother and his sister Pearl, who was severely burned in a fire, to finally bury the hatchet. But sometimes the ties that bind can cut off all circulation.

5.8

MagicScore

#12

Trauma

1993

A young Romanian woman and a recovering drug addict launch an unlikely investigation after her parents are murdered by a vicious serial killer known as The Headhunter.

5.8

MagicScore

#13

Hate2O

2006

Five friends travel to a secluded island for a purifying week-long water fast. With no food and electricity, a long forgotten hate surfaces.

3.9

MagicScore

#14

Diana: In Her Own Words

2017

Using home videos recorded by her voice coach, Diana takes us through the story of her life.

7.7

MagicScore

#15

Things Heard & Seen

2021

Catherine Clare reluctantly trades life in 1980 Manhattan for a remote home in the tiny hamlet of Chosen, New York, after her husband George lands a job teaching art history at a small Hudson Valley college. Even as she does her best to transform the old dairy farm into a place where young daughter Franny will be happy, Catherine increasingly finds herself isolated and alone. She soon comes to sense a sinister darkness lurking both in the walls of the ramshackle property—and in her marriage to George.

5.7

MagicScore

#16

Boogeyman 2

2007

A young woman attempts to cure her phobia of the boogeyman by checking herself into a mental health facility, only to realize too late that she is now helplessly trapped with her own greatest fear.

5.5

MagicScore

#17

The Darkness

2016

A family returns from a Grand Canyon vacation with a supernatural presence in tow.

4.8

MagicScore

#18

Capernaum

2018

After running away from his negligent parents, committing a violent crime and being sentenced to five years in jail, a hardened, streetwise 12-year-old Lebanese boy sues his parents in protest of the life they have given him.

8.1

MagicScore

#19

Slow Torture Puke Chamber!

2010

Making good on her pact with Satan, Angela Aberdeen's tortured and vomit-soaked soul descends into Hell. But Satan is not finished with her yet - He has more suffering planned for his ravaged slave. Angela is sent back up to the surface to stalk and destroy yet another victim. Her return initiates the emergence of a new Angela who is steadily and painfully infected with the Devil's Curse. An appalling metamorphosis befalls the chosen young victim as she is racked by bulimia, and subjected to the dark, forbidden secrets of incest of abuse. Slowly, the two Angelas merge into one Perfect Child of Satan and descend to an eternity of suffering in Hell.

3.0

MagicScore

#20

Philadelphia

1993

Two competing lawyers join forces to sue a prestigious law firm for AIDS discrimination. As their unlikely friendship develops their courage overcomes the prejudice and corruption of their powerful adversaries.

7.7

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story?

The top films similar to Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story by MovieMagicScore are God Help the Girl (6.5), To the Bone (7.2), Don't Worry, I'm Fine (7.2). Each shares drama/music themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story worth watching?

Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story holds a MovieMagicScore of 7.0/10 from 59 viewer ratings, putting it among the better-reviewed titles in its genre.

What kind of movie is Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story?

Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story (1987) is a drama, music film directed by Todd Haynes, starring Merrill Gruver, Michael Edwards, Melissa Brown.

Where can I find more recommendations like Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story?

Browse the full ranked list above, or explore more drama recommendations on MovieMagicScore, where every list is ordered by genuine viewer ratings.

Keep exploring

Movies like God Help the Girl Movies like To the Bone Movies like Don't Worry, I'm Fine Movies like Body Movies like Maledimiele Movies like Compulsion

About movies like Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story

This ranked list pairs Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story (1987), a drama and music film from Todd Haynes, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Merrill Gruver take note). Unlike critic-driven sites, every position here is ordered by MovieMagicScore — a rating built only from real viewers, with no studio marketing or paid placement. Scores update as more people rate, so the list stays current.

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