READY TO WEAR
A film review by Raymond Johnston
Copyright 1995 Raymond Johnston
Directed by Robert Altman Starring: Anouk Aimee, Marcello Mastroianni, Sophia Loren, Kim Bassinger, Stephen Rea, Tim Robbins, Julia Roberts, Lauren Bacall, Sally Kellerman, Danny Aiello
Altman has developed a unique style. His classic films all have large ensemble casts juggling several intertwining storylines at once, often talking at the same time. After taking on the world of politics in NASHVILLE and the disintegrating California social structure in SHORT CUTS, lampooning the vapid world of Paris fashion just doesn't seem to be a worthy enough subject. Fluff, dissected and scrutinized, is fluff. There is very little more to know about it than can be seen at first glance.
READY TO WEAR, or PRET A PORTER as the film's title sequence still says, only has a chance of being moderately satisfying compared to Altman's classic essays on society. It does succeed for the most part, landing at least in the upper half of Altman's work, but least satisfying of his efforts since his "comeback" with VINCENT AND THEO, but better than his last Paris lensed outing, BEYOND THERAPY.
His stories this time are much more loosely connected than last. In SHORT CUTS a thread of cause and effect could be traced from one character to the others, Lily Tomlin's accident to the parents to the cake maker and so forth. In READY TO WEAR, one simply has to be in Paris on the days covered to be included in the story. Several of them could be removed completely with no effect on the storyline. Where characters in SHORT CUTS often delved into their deepest emotions, READY TO WEAR is all cheap shots, one line barbs. Nothing in the film is deep or heartfelt. Simply as a comedy, it is difficult to tell what the jokes about the fashion world even are, since the world is so close to self-parody anyway. An unpleasant vein of scatological humor runs through the film as well.
After a so-so first hour, filled with protracted set-ups and introductions, the film gets somewhat better. After what seems to be an endless bit of airport arrivals and hotel check-ins, several plots emerge, mostly concerning petty backfighting between different designers, models, photographers and magazine editors. Once the characters and their own personal vacuous goals are established, the stories get going quickly as a maze of rehearsals and shows that one either must be seen or not be seen at. Doing the seeing for us is Kim Bassinger as Kitty Potter, an MTV-type fashion reporter who seems to be everywhere trying to get a straight answer from anybody as she reads her questions from cue cards.
The ensemble cast for the film is huge. Many real Paris fashion icons play themselves, and lent their creations to be used in the film. The cast is a who's and who's not list of international talent. Stephen Rea gives his best performance to date as a jaded photographer in a stand out role. European art film stalwarts Marcello Mastroianni, Sophia Loren, Anouk Aimee and Jean-Pierre Cassel bring warmth to their story, and it is a large portion of the film. Lauren Bacall, Lyle Lovett, Tim Robbins, Julia Roberts, Teri Garr and Danny Aiello are among several stars really wasted in side stories that never get to be quite amusing enough.
By the end, more of the stories hit than miss. It becomes amusing to see what new depths of shallowness some of the characters will sink to in their petty back stage games. Even the message scene at the end is amusing for its shallowness at making a deep statement about fashion.
Compared to most of the films that came out of Hollywood this year, READY TO WEAR is better than most, but once it is over it is as forgettable as last year's platform shoes. Ultimately it is as shallow as the world it is commenting on.
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