Stardust was the sequel to That'll be the Day, a 1973 film à clef about the rise of a Beatles-like rock group. Real-life rock star David Essex plays singer Jim Maclaine (read: John Lennon), whose sudden rise to fame has enriched him beyond his wildest dreams. His perspective and sense of values skewered by sex, drugs, and booze, Maclaine becomes little more than a singing cipher, outwardly successful but hollow inside. Ironically, Keith Moon of the Who, whose own life paralleled the fictional Maclaine's in many ways, appears in a supporting role. Dave Edmunds, who appears in as Alex, co-wrote the film's pulsating musical score with Lord David Puttnam (the film's producer).
~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide