3 % body fat. 1 % brain activity. Oops, that was the boast of Ben Stiller in the film Zoolander, the one about the stupormodel with the cut-glass cheekbones and zero brain cells. This season's male stupormodel is Bruno, the (mock-doc? pseudo-doc? diet doc?) starring Sacha Baron Cohen (pictured) as the the Austrian coverboy who believes he was born to runway -- and comes to America to prove it.
The photo of Cohen makes me laugh. So does the movie poster, which carries the tagline: "Borat Was So 2006." So does "Bruno" 's subtitle: Delicious Journeys Through America For the Purpose of Making Heterosexual Males Visibly Uncomfortable in Presence of Gay Foreigner in a Mesh T-Shirt. Yet I wonder, as I frequently did during Zoolander, is Bruno a satire of the fashion industry, of narcissism, of gay culture -- or an invitation to laugh at rather than with all of the above?
Movies about fashion models come in two flavors. One is a bitter cautionary tale about the dangerous depths of the industry's shallowness (see Darling, Gia, Mahogany and Stardom.) The other is sweet confection about the covergirl who has intellectual or romantic interests not being served by her work (How to Marry a Millionaire, Funny Face, and The Model and the Marriage Broker. Have I missed any titles? Your favorite fashion-model movie? Your favorite model-turned-actor? I loved Suzy Parker.
While I love FUNNY FACE, the recent documentaries, ELEVEN MINUTES at one end of the spectrum, and VALENTINO: THE LAST EMPORER at the other, are my favorite fashion films of late. Both gave me great insight into the industry.— garyk- If we're talking industry, then "The Devil Wears Prada" and "A New Kind of Love," with Joanne Woodward as a fashion buyer who knocks off French couture and Paul Newman as a sportswriter, would be on my list.— carrierickey
- Favorite models turned actresses include Renee Russo and Andie MacDowell. Favorite runway movie would be Little Miss Sunshine.— ccjroberts
- If we're talking fashion in general, I like Unzipped.
- "is Bruno a satire of the fashion industry, of narcissism, of gay culture?". On the TV show he mocked pretentious fashion designers but then homophobes (dancing/cheerleading at the University of Alabama football game--hint: they did not appreciate him).— Jim C.
- Suzy Parker rocks (or rocked), Carrie. Loved her. I have a decided weakness of models-turned-actresses - Cybill Shepherd, Millie Perkins, Tippi Hedren, Dayle Haddon, Kim Basinger, Shelley Hack and the like.— Pash
- Suzy Parker rocks (or rocked), Carrie. Loved her. I have a decided weakness of models-turned-actresses - Cybill Shepherd, Millie Perkins, Tippi Hedren, Dayle Haddon, Kim Basinger, Shelley Hack and the like.— Pash
- Just occurred to me that the godmother of models-turned-actresses is Lauren Bacall. I have a soft spot for Cybill Shepherd, too.— carrierickey
- I second the vote for Rene Russo. Although I have a hunch this may prompt general scoffing, I'd be willing to argue that her work in Major League, Lethal Weapon 3, In the Line of Fire, Get Shorty, Tin Cup, The Thomas Crown Affair, and the overlooked Big Trouble made her one of the most successful actresses of the late '90s/early 00s, and in fact one of the defining ones of that period. Shelly Hack was good in "The Stepfather" (a truly scary movie), and in a made-for-TV confection called "Bridesmaids." Lest we forget, Hody Foster started out as a model for Coppertone - she was only two, but still. Also, we just paid tribute to one of the more famous models-turned actresses: Marilyn Chambers.— wwolfe
- Love Russo in "In the Line of Fire" and "Tin Cup." Are there any male models-turned-actors?— carrierickey
- I have a hazy recollection of Sean Connery having been a model, but that could be wrong.— wwolfe
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