Katie: Portrait of a Centerfold (1978 TV Movie) User Reviews (4)

Rather ordinary tale of a scandalous life, so it becomes a sleeper, and not in a good way.

[mark.waltz · 4/10 · 27 December 2022]

This TV movie which was one of Kim Basinger's first films had the potential to be trashy fun but ends up rather predictable and slow moving, only giving a few signs of the fun little campy film it could have been. She goes from small town beauty queen in Texas to a pin-up girl, finding that things aren't exactly what they seem when she signs up with a modeling agency run by sisters Vivian Blaine and Dorothy Malone. The two fading glamour girls promise her lots of a claim doing legitimate modeling, but all that ends up happening is a centerfold in a trashy girly magazine. When she returns to her small town, she finds she's the subject of ridicule and harassment, and even aunt Nan Martin (who seems to be the only one who truly supported her) can't get others around the family to understand why such things happen to a seemingly nice girl.

It seems like this was going out of its way not to be another troubled teen movie, trying to be too clean in spite of some scenes that insinuate that what's going on isn't so legit. It's nice to see the veterans in the cast, as well as a few rising newcomers, but outside of Basinger's promising performance that indicates stardom is waiting for her, there's little of Interest on this since we've seen this plot done so much better or at least a lot more fun over the years. This certainly is better than "Showgirls", but that film was more fun to laugh at. So if you just want a cleaned up version of what kind of sleaze Hollywood was trying to prevent young girls from becoming involved in back in the day, then this is the one to seek out, but it only gives slight reality to the genuine issues that could have been dealt with so much better had this attempted to be daring.

The Hollywood Hoopla. (spoilers)

[vertigo_14 · 3/10 · 30 December 2007]

Whoever wrote the synopsis for the VHS version of this movie (aka, Dancing in the Shadows) must not have watched the entire film. To sell an otherwise forgotten drama, the marketers had to capitalize on it's then woefully pre-stardom cast members Kim Basinger and Don Johnson. Indeed, Kim Basinger does play the sadly naive young Texan with dreams of becoming a big star in Hollywood. And that is essentially the whole movie--Katie, the Centerfold model who gets the runaround from agents and actors and everyone else running the show in Hollywood. It's very simple, though Katie doesn't seem like a very sympathetic character, despite practically being stalked by drooling guys who carry around the magazine that Katie poses nude for like they're carrying around their driver's license. And with hopes continuously dashed, it is an exaggerated movie that ends rather sadly.

The funny part is that the synopsis says that Don Johnson is said to be the hero who tries to rescue Katie from the decadence she finds herself swallowed by out in Hollywood, only to become entangled in it himself. If you're expecting much of Don Johnson in this movie, you'll be disappointed. Otherwise, the movie itself is just dreamy 1970s and probably just enough for nostalgic Basinger fans.

A little more than the typical, TV-movie-of-the-week

[niara · 7/10 · 5 November 2007]

I remember this one from when I was in high school. I remember Kim Basinger with that Texas drawl. I also remember Melanie Mayron, who I believe played a photographer. Pretty typical story about a young woman who poses for a playboy-like magazine and ends up leaving the town she was raised in because of all the trouble her photograph created for her and her family. She ends up in Hollywood, chasing a dream of becoming an actress, and of course, things don't work out as she had hoped. I remember another character -- they all end up in a Hollywood apartment as roommates, of which Melanie Mayron was one. There was a particular character in this TV-movie who was young, had a child, and was willing to go to certain lengths to become famous whereas Basinger's character would not cross that line. I'm sure this TV-movie is pretty dated now (it is nearly 30 years old) and will probably never be released on DVD but I remember it clearly. It has stayed with me all this time, particularly the end.

A good seventies movie.The delusions of a Texas girl.

[seve072 · 7/10 · 17 May 2018]

I remember quite well this movie and it aired in the mid eighties in France and i appreciated it a lot.I liked the seventies atmosphere and the state of mind which was careless and pleasant.Kim basinger who played Katie a beautiful young blonde left her village in Texas to go to Hollywood seek fame with the hope to be a model and an actress..But her dreams will be thwarted and things won't work out as she expected..She is a very naïve girl and will learn at her expense that modeling can be dirty as she poses for a playboy magazine and ends up in bed with a vile producer..Sick and tired she will leave Los angeles with many broken dreams to go back home in Texas..I won't tell the end but this movie is good even if there are a few lenghts and Katie's character is sometimes difficult and not smily..It is dated,40 years old but it was a movie to see at that time not to dream too much of quick money and fame.There is the appareance of Don johnson too who was very young and a few other actors in their youth..I recommend it to you though even if it is a bit old and especially for young adults..