Name: SztárVár
Genre: Comedy
Released: 2005-03-28
Rating: 4.1
Cast: Attila Árpa

bizarre, plastic time capsule of Hungarian trash culture

If someone were to ask what the weirdest thing in mid-2000s Hungarian television was, SztárVár would definitely be in the top three. This show never tried to be more than what it was: a loud, sometimes outright stomach-churning, yet brave parody of the celebrity culture that was just beginning to completely overwhelm the country at the time.

The Concept: The creators took the recipe of the British Spitting Image or the French puppet news shows and applied it to the Való Világ (Big Brother-style) format. The result? Grotesque rubber puppets that look like they stepped out of a fever dream. The puppet versions of Gyozo Gáspár, Henrik Havas, and Tünde Kiszel are simultaneously terrifying and brilliant-the essence of caricature lies exactly in this kind of exaggeration.

What Works: The show's greatest strength is its lack of restraint. No one was spared: the "sacred cows" of the media and the popular reality show heroes were all ruthlessly dragged through the mud. The voice actors (especially the "Creature" and Majka's voice) did a fantastic job, and the dialogues were sometimes so absurd that you didn't know whether to cry or laugh. It had a "nothing-to-lose" punk attitude that is completely missing from commercial TV today.

What Works Less: Unfortunately, the humor hasn't always aged well. Many jokes stop at the crude, "toilet humor" level, and you can often feel the writers running out of steam by the end of the thirtieth minute. The trash factor sometimes hits so high that it verges on unwatchable, and if you didn't live in Hungary in 2005, half of the jokes will be entirely incomprehensible to you.

The Verdict: SztárVár was a bold experiment in an era when television still dared to play with formats. It's not a masterpiece, and it's often incredibly exhausting, but it possesses a certain nostalgic charm. It's a distorted mirror of the golden age of Hungarian tabloids-one that probably no one would dare to broadcast today.

Pros: Bold visuals, razor-sharp character parodies.

Cons: Fluctuating script quality, occasionally over-the-top vulgarity.

The comedy genre refers to a category of entertainment that aims to amuse and entertain audiences by using humor, wit, and comedic situations. Comedies are created with the primary intention of eliciting laughter and providing lighthearted enjoyment. They encompass a wide range of styles, tones, and themes, appealing to various tastes and audiences.

Will Ferrell, Angela Grillo, and Lap-Gei Cheung in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)

Get a closer look at some of Hollywood's perfect pairs.

Hollywood Power Couples

Get a closer look at some of Hollywood&#39;s perfect pairs.

See which big screen releases you can watch from the comfort of your couch.

Theatrical Releases Coming to Streaming

Get a closer look at these actors from their many TV and streaming series roles.

SztárVár

Episodes4

Photos

Cast1

User reviews1

Related interests

Storyline

Did you know

Top picks

Details

Tech specs

Contribute to this page

More to explore

Recently viewed