When Karen Carpenter died on February 4; 1983 at the age of 32; more than one generation mourned. Karen and her brother; Richard; had achieved monumental success as purveyors of soft-rock soulfulness; aided by their wholesome; wistful looks. After all; these were the hard-rocking; disco-throbbing '70s; yet with classics like "Close to You;" "Rainy Days and Mondays;" and "We've Only Just Begun;" the pair blurred the lines of musical class. But no one knew--or at least talked about--Karen's debilitating bouts of bulimia and ongoing battle against the ravaging effects of anorexia. Close to You: Remembering the Carpenters is more a gracious memento than a documentary and presents a rather biased view; heavily influenced by Richard's opinion and commentary. Beginning with the duo's early major success; winning a Battle of the Bands at the Hollywood Bowl; it's a quick trip through the salad years including the first record deal with Herb Alpert's A&M Records. Alpert calls his initial listen to the Carpenters' demo tape "love at first hear." That appears to be true for everyone who came into contact with them; as band members; songwriters Burt Bacharach and Paul Williams; and singer Petula Clark readily testify. The hits and the TV specials are reviewed; too; but something feels missing from this glimpse; which barely scratches the surface. It's obvious to anyone watching the film that Karen; who really wanted to be known as a drummer who sang; not the other way around; was in immense pain and terribly conflicted. Yet by the final credits; we know little more about her than we did before. She remains an enigma and this peek at her life--and Richard's--feels too protective of her memory to tell the whole truth. --Paula Nechak