March 2011: Fashion and Families

The September Issue

“September is the January in fashion” so says a fashionista explaining, that the September issue of fashion magazines is the biggest and best issue of the year.  In the first documentary for Club Moofie, The September Issue goes behind the scenes of Vogue magazine showing just how much hard work goes into getting a fashion magazine to publication.

This “fly of the wall” fashion doco introduces us to lots of interesting characters. But the most interesting are Anna Wintour, editor-in-chief and Grace Coddington, the artistic director and the symbiotic relationship between them. The two couldn’t be more different. Anna Wintour, known as the “Ice Queen”, “Nuclear Wintour” is controlled, defensive, feline, and always immaculately manicured and polished. Grace Coddington is a romantic at heart, with wild red hair, flat shoes and no makeup. She is the creative genius who dreams up the stunning and exquisite photographs for Vogue. Despite their differences, it’s clear they have deep respect for each other.

I must say, I’ve never read Vogue before and never heard of Anna Wintour. The world of couture, limosines and celebrity is far removed but the film provides interesting insights and appreciation of the enormous effort that goes into producing Vogue. The September Issue gave us a new found respect for the people in the fashion industry.

 

Scores:

Andy: 3

Beck: 4.5

CJ: 4

Jayne: 3

Natalya: 4

Paul: 4

Sylvia: 4

Wendy: 3

 

Quotes:

Sylvia: [on the extras] Does it show a different human side <to Anna Wintour>?

Beck: No but it did make her look like a fluffy bunny

Paul: She does smile a bit more in the out-takes

Beck: [on Anna Wintour] That woman’s accent ….”yerz…whyer…myer”!.. such a weird accent!

Andy: That was because of all the makeup

Beck: She would hide behind that hair. She has these enormous nostrils – whoah camel!

Beck: Respekt, Anna Wintour, Respekt <devil hands>

Beck: [on Grace Coddington] She walks like a troll in those shoes.

Andy [on John Galliano]: That anti-semitic prick!

Wendy: Do you read Vogue?

Sylvia: No, I can’t stand any fashion magazines

Natalya: In a doctor’s surgery maybe

Andy: I just found it very weird, I mean..<lots of wild hand waving>…

Andy to CJ: How you going to quote that?!

Natalya: Karl Lagerfeld, he’s an idiot. They’re all are a bit weird in the industry

Sylvia [on high couture’s role in fashion and the clothing of society]: It’s a filter down from the high end, and we cut it down to ready-to-wear.

CJ: <blank stare>

Andy: Like a concept car!

CJ: <face brightens>

The Kids Are Alright

Joni who has just turned 18 and her brother, Laser, both conceived by artificial insemination decide to search for their “sperm donor”.  And so starts the story of a modern American family headed by lesbian couple, Nic (Annette Bening) and Jules (Julianne Moore). The kids discover that their biological dad, Paul (Mark Ruffalo), is a free-loving, organic farmer and restaurant owner. The “moms” discover that Paul dropped out of school, never finished his International Relations degree AND as we later realize, Paul likes the idea of gaining an instant family.

While the film had its moments, the problem some of us saw is that if the film had been about a hetero- couple, would we have been interested in seeing this film? Not the way the story line was handled. Yes, marriages are difficult and so are lesbian marriages – this seems to be the message of the film. However, by trying so hard to “normalise” lesbian families and show that their relationships are as messy as “normal” families, Hollywood has made a film that was sanitized and somewhat unremarkable.

 

Scores:

Andy: 4

Beck: 1

CJ: 2

Jayne: 4.5

Natalya: 2.5

Paul: 3

Sylvia: 1.5

Wendy: 2

 

Quotes:

Beck: Things were a bit too convenient. Trying to cram an awful lot into the film. They tried dropping all these things in, but maybe if you’d crafted the film better in the first place, and um yeah. Blah blah blah chatter chatter chatter

Paul: [on the sex scene with the hot black girl] It wasn’t even gratuitous

Andy: The producer said you got to put something ‘hetero’ in

Beck: [on the mothers explaining to the kids why they watch male gay sex]   They said “We don’t like straight porn because they use straight actors”… and I thought “like kind of like now”.

Natalya: It was still Hollywood-ised. I know what you’re saying about European films <Andy> but it was still too sanitized.

Beck: [comparing the September Issue to the Kids are Alright] This is a case where real life can be better than a film.

Paul: [On how annoying Mark Ruffalo’s character was] He owns a restaurant and he makes amazing PIE!

Paul [On pretentious European films and Ruffalo’s character who fixes cameras]: The pie was one thing but the camera? – get the fuck out!

Beck: The Kids are Alright was not alright.

Beck to Andy: Have a chocolate

Andy: No, I’ll have to be Photoshopped

Sylvia: Not in my magazine, darling