May 2001
FILM DUDS - “May offered some
real duds” |
(May: Main Page * Features * Reviews * Gallery ) Current Issue * Archive |
FILM DUDS - “May offered some real duds” By Kellye
Whitney (Chicago) It’s Kellye Time! I’m back with the latest
addition of “Film Duds.” Current fashion accessory of the moment: The
BDL - Best Dressed List. My favorite fashion mag Harper’s Bazaar
dropped their May 2001 best dressed list featuring cool-indie-film-It-Girl
Chloe Sevigny. While Chloe’s interview sounded slightly self-serving, I
agree with her status as one of film’s fashionable elite. The former
grunge poster girl learned early that true style comes not from imitating
current trends, but from your own personality and character. The Chicago
Sun-Times was savvy to recognize Chloe’s stature on their BDL. Shameless
regional plug, sorry! May I also congratulate my personal nominee from the
big and small screen who did not make the list: Lucy Liu. La Lucy’s
wardrobe on Ally McBeal is Fab-u-lous!
Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know! Poor Jewel (Liv Tyler), all she wanted was her dream
house... and a DVD. One Night at McCool’s wasn’t cinematic greatness,
but Liv Tylers collection of madonna and whore slip dresses was well worth
the price of admission. She was a walking contradiction, or very
appropriate, depending on who was looking! For
Randy (Matt Dillon), a hapless bartender, Jewel was like the white trash
version of a french maid, sans apron. She kept house, and kept house! Liv
paraded contentedly around in tight, low cut tops and tight, short dresses
in a range of sexy colors from blush pink to pale purple. She had stripper
ties in the back, plunging neckline in the front, and black and gold lame
leopard stripes everywhere else. Costume Designer Ellen Mirojnick went to town on
Jewel’s manipulative house maker persona, offering strategic glimpses of
color-coordinated underwear via fitted sundress. For Randy’s cousin Carl
(Paul Reiser), well, do the words, black corset and whip mean anything to
you? Before Carl’s lust-filled eyes, Jewel’s quite modest black
sundress shrinks at hem, neck and navel. This could be interpreted as one
man’s warped sexual perception. But hey, aren’t things always slightly
muzzy in those first sessions with a new therapist? For church-goer and by-the-book Detective Dehling
(John Goodman), Jewel was innocent and sweet. All that was pure and in
need of saving, a diamond in the ruff. Randy was the Ruff! Only to glad to
foster his roe-colored view of her, Jewel presented herself in a pink
Princess dress with silver glitter, cooked, and you-know-what her way into
poor Dehling’s heart. The men all looked like they shopped in the same
upscale thrift store for out of work cowboys and suburban golf caddies.
Paul Reiser gets the gas face for his barbecue outfit, a hot pink plaid
short set with a straw belt and neck sweater. His therapy shirt and tie on
the other hand were nice. Michael Douglas wins the Accessory of the Movie
award. His toupe, a greasy, brown, bad pimp flip from the snakes and
gators era, always seemed to appear a few minutes before he did. Andrew
Dice Clay got a giggle and a thumbs up for his dual role as a
not-too-happy pair of twins who stand in the way of a good/bad girl and
the house of her dreams... Curvy, British, Drunk, Tactless. It works. Renee Zellwegger, fresh from “Nurse Betty”
triumph, is a hit in “Bridget Jones’s Diary.” A chubby Zellwegger is
completely believable as the unlucky but goodhearted Brit. Bridget Jones
is the unfortunate victim of her odd ball family’s good intentions and
her own unhealthy attraction to vodka and loose-moraled bosses with Hugh
Grant’s hair and blue eyes. To complicate matters enter recently
divorced Colin Firth as Bridget’s extremely annoying mother prospect
Mark Darcy, who is very nattily dressed when not under his own mother’s
rather skewed style vision. Add to that a group of madcap, sarcastic
friends and her mother’s sudden bunko with a home shopping guru, it’s
no wonder Bridget’s hair has a tendency to stand on end. Make-up
and hair designer Graham Johnstone and Costume Designer Rachael Fleming
created a balance between natural, yet minimalist style (a la low budget
British) with a slightly chaotic look that shadowed Bridget's swinging
mood changes. Ecstatic? Copper see through gauze shirt over black bra with
black mini and black knee boots with heel. Completely unexpected 32nd
birthday embarrassment at hands of equally tactless mother and assorted
party guests? Mud-burgundy dress with a floral carpet (or was it drapery?)
pattern and a bib collar, a green reindeer jumper (sweater), occasional
leopard knickers (panties), and a red snowman tie. Maudlin backslide into
vodka bottle? Wool print pajamas that flood. I admired a shaggy black sweater with a hood and
belt, ‘poofs,’ Brit slang for homosexual, and the movie’s smash
down, bang up restaurant/street fight scene. The window breaking bit might
have been overkill, but the heart behind the punches was fabulous! The Southern New Yorker Academy Award winning Costume Designer Ann Roth gives
another stellar performance with the film adaptation of best selling novel
“Animal Husbandry” by Laura Zigman. Roth, whose recent projects
include “Finding Forrester” and “The Talented Mr. Ripley,” joined
up with long time collaborator and Costume Designer Michelle Maitlin - The
Out-of-Towners, The English Patient, and Guarding Tess. Ashley Judd’s schtick as Jane Goodale, a nice girl
pushed too far, is light-hearted and funny. She's a talent booker on a
popular daytime talk show who falls for the okey-doke from the show's hot
shot executive, Ray Brown. Ray dumps her and chaos reigns. Judd’s
country roots showed in floral prints, some ruffles, and an especially
cute strapless silver dress with a red pattern. She rocked Jane’s
quietly oddball/career girl vibe with choice pieces like a pale blue, see
through shirt with tiny floral print and yellow lace at the sleeve, and a
Burberry-patterned coat. There was a mix of soft grays, sudden cuts like
the hem of a gray tweed skirt, and a fabulous, blood-red, ankle-length
satin coat. Marisa Tomei (Lizzie) was a smash in a polka dot
blouse and a powder blue coat with a big floppy collar. With friends like
Lizzie, who cares about enemies? Do what Jane did. Get your heart broke,
get evicted, then devote all your waking energy to research into the male
psyche via mad cows. It should be that easy to get a successful sex
column! Jane’s brother-in-law is the one faithful man in
the movie. Because of him and moviegoers tried and true belief that a
happy ending can happen in less than two hours, the idea of her coupling
with career womanizer Eddie Alden (X-Men’s Hugh Jackman) is a good
thing! I guess love really does conquer all. The Ups, The Downs, and Penelope
Current It Girl Penelope Cruz (Mirtha) did her best to eclipse Johnny Depp
in director Ted Demme’s “Blow.” The movie chronicled the life and
times of drug kingpin and ultimate loser George Jung. But Johnny Depp’s
hairstyles and sunglasses saved him. The film did a fabulous job bringing
back that uni-color, fabric belt charm from the late 70’s and the
decaying elegance of the early eighties. Penelope
could have walked from “Blow” to the set of Dynasty without missing a
beat. She was all about lush, rich silks in dramatic colors and big, sexy
hair. Whether screeching bitchily or snorting noisily, she flaunted her
femininity with the subtlety of a karate chop! High point - red ball gown,
plunging neckline with silver trim, fabulous! Second high point - also
cherry red, a flowing silk number caressing the unborn version of child
newcomer Emma Roberts who’s related to, you guessed it! Julia Roberts
via brother Eric. Paul Reubens was a stylish and believable complement to
the cast as George’s sweet sounding drug business associate. “Blow” Costume Designer Mark Bridges has worked on feature films like “Magnolia, Blast from the Past,” and “Can’t Hardly Wait.” He also worked on LL Cool J’s scene stealing “Deep Blue Sea,” and my personal Indie favorite, “Thursday,” both featuring the yummy and always stylish Thomas Jane. Jane will appear next in Billy Crystal’s baseball flick “61.” Can’t wait to see what those tight baseball uniforms do for him and Barry Pepper. Do you want to discuss this article with other community members? Have any comments on black film? Then go to our Community section -- http://www.blackfilm.com/community/ |
(May: Main Page * Features * Reviews * Gallery ) Current Issue * Archive |