A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Blistering performances.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

. . . starred in more flicks for Warner Bros. than Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney, Bette Davis, George Raft, or Errol Flynn, some of the lesser-known players on the Warner Lot 75 years ago. (Wayne was heard in fewer Warner films than Mel Blanc, however.) By the Mid-1950s Warner Brass realized that they were in the exact same relationship to Wayne as Dr. Frankenstein was to his monster. Partly out of guilt, but mostly out of a belated sense of Social Responsibility, Warner began to Warn America about Wayne with increasing frequency and an ever-growing shrill urgency, often via Looney Tune animated shorts. A STAR IS BORED features Daffy Duck, Warner's frequent stand-in for Wayne. STAR traces Wayne's career from his humble beginnings as a studio janitor through his first 100 or so films as a stunt double (standing in here for Bugs Bunny) to the 79 times he'd be shot as a top-billed "star" (right down to his final flick, THE SHOOTIST, the last scene of which is blocked out EXACTLY as the final bit of A STAR IS BORED, which PRECEDED Wayne's SHOOTIST swan song by 20 years!). BORED also features an opening cameo showing the Henchwoman of Wayne's Real Life Reign of Terror, Hedda Hopper, as a cartoon gossip columnist with the name (as spelled in Warner's closed captioning) of "Loly," or Laugh-Out-Loud-Yeti (that is, a Bigfoot B-word).

Cute Daffy and Bugs short with a very funny set-up. This one has Daffy complaining to a Warner Bros. executive about Bugs getting all the attention. It just so happens the exec is having trouble finding stunt doubles for Bugs so Daffy is easily talked into taking on the job. This leads to several scenes where we see the cartoons being filmed like live-action movies. When it gets to the point in the scenes where violence is supposed to be inflicted upon Bugs, Daffy is forced to stand in and take the lumps. This type of cartoon, where the characters are actors acting out their roles, is the kind of thing that is all too common in modern Looney Tunes. It isn't funny anymore but, back then, it was fresh and clever. This is also a rare case where Bugs, Daffy, Yosemite Sam, and Elmer Fudd all appear in the same short. The animation is bright and colorful. The music is lively and fun. Great voice work from Mel Blanc and Arthur Q. Bryan, of course. Lots of laughs to be had here, particularly where Daffy is concerned. Love that ending.

In what must have been the only time that Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Elmer Fudd and Yosemite Sam all starred in the same cartoon, Daffy is movie star Bugs's stunt double for every dangerous scene. Suffice it to say, Daffy always believes that he'll end up the top star but always suffers in the worst way possible. Is this his eternal doom?! Anyway, "A Star Is Bored" really shows Friz Freleng's style. While his cartoons didn't usually reach the cleverness attained by Chuck Jones's work, he always kept his cartoons funny. He certainly gives Daffy his just desserts. And he pokes fun at Hollywood just the right amount without the cartoon turning obnoxious. A good one.I bet that the people in Middle America didn't get the part about Daffy performing at bar mitzvahs. Of course, the Termite Terrace crowd always liked to sneak in things like that (see the kreplach scene in "The Scarlet Pumpernickel").

For the umpteenth time, Daffy "hubris is my middle name" Duck tries to best Bugs Bunny, with the same success that he's had before. The hardest part here is wondering how a duck is supposed to double a rabbit. But, as has been said, anything can happen in a cartoon. This is a fun and enjoyable cartoon and Daffy gets what he deserves and what I suspect is his karmic birthright. Recommended.