Hollywood costumes

I've been musing about films with memorable costumes over the past few weeks. My dad came to stay and said he recently rewatched Rear Window and couldn't take his eyes off Grace Kelly. Totally understandable as she is gorgeous however what makes her even more gorgeous in Rear Window is her wardrobe. This outfit is timeless:

And this is so elegant:

And this just makes me so envious of her, her style and composure:

I can't think of another actress as elegant as Grace Kelly. She is a proper movie star, you can't take your eyes off her. My all-time favourite Grace Kelly film for clothes is High Society. I love this blue dress and matching shoes:

And this dress is possibly my favourite dress in any movie:

The colour, the sleeves, the way she looks in it. Utterly gorgeous.

Also:

I don't know about you but my pool-side attire is very similar.

Grace's costumes were as much a part of the script as what she said. The same is true of course of Gone With The Wind. I could do a very long post simply about GWTW costumes (and one day I might) but for now, let's feast our eyes on this:

The best thing about this is the hat. I adore that hat and the green velvet bow.  Green is the main colour for Scarlett and this boudoir outfit is perfection:

And of course, we must mention the curtains dress! Which, by the way, I saw at the V&A exhibition recently and it's tiny. I don't think even half of me would fit in it.

I am currently inspired by Annie Hall. I love how modern Diane Keaton looks.

A look that inspire a whole generation of women. 

I shall be posting more about costumes as I think of more films that make them such a feature. 

Burlesque

Where has this film been all my life? Is there anything more perfect than Cher and Christine Aguilera together singing, dancing and a small-town girl makes good storyline? I think not.

Burlesque has been out for three whole years and yet it has taken me until now to watch it. I wanted to see it when it was released but never quite got round to it. My sister insisted I should watch it and we all know she is always right. Last night, thanks to Netflix, I settled down to view and within two minutes I was hooked. It's so cheesy, it's the very definition of a Bad Movie We Love and if you've not seen it then I'm afraid I must insist that you make it a priority.

The cast is epic. It has Stanley Tucci. I love Stanley Tucci, he's never bad and there's something very attractive about him. Peter Gallagher makes an appearance. Kristen Bell. For goodness sake, James Brolin! All this and Cher too. Really, we are spoilt. Plus it has this hot dude:

Last spotted by me in The OC, boy he is looking good.

The storyline is paper thin but it doesn't matter. All you need to know is that Christina belts out song after song, Cher does her make up for her and there's loads of dancing. It's a gay man's dream of a film which makes it something I automatically have affinity with. Christina is pretty good in it since she's no actress but her hair is utterly bizarre. At one point they make a point of saying she will wear a wig for the stage which makes her look 100% better yet she still has this weird Barbie-like hair the rest of the time. I'd go so far as to say it's almost a distraction.

Good:

Weird:

My one complaint is there is not enough Cher singing. Nonetheless, it's a masterpiece of cheesy film making and I highly recommend it.

Father Of The Bride

I've not seen this film in years and rewatched it this week. I still love it however I noted that the groom is now in Scandal as Charlie. I don't want to spoil anything if you've not watched Scandal yet but it tickled me no end. The bride is in Nashville as Peggy who has an affair with Teddy. I wouldn't have recognised her, I think she's had some work done. In addition, it was written by Nancy Meyers, my bete noire of film making. The woman who made What Women Want, Something's Gotta Give and the risible, The Holiday.

It's all pretty dated now but it's a fun film. I love Steve Martin's reaction to pretty much everything going on around him. He's portrayed as being unreasonable but I feel for him. His spoilt 22 year old daughter just expects him to pay for a wedding for hundreds of people? Are the days of the father paying for weddings over? I certainly hope so as it's so sexist. This is a deeply conservative film and it's saccharine sweet but I can't help it, I love it. It's like wrapping yourself up in a fluffy blanket and locking out the world for 90 minutes.

Jule's apartment in St Elmo's Fire

My love for St Elmo's Fire is well documented. However, I don't believe I've covered Jule's apartment. It's pink and it has a light installation of Billy Idol. I spent years yearning for this apartment. Look at that shot above and tell me you don't want to move in. I adore it.

While I'm here, let's have some St Elmo gifs.

It must be time to watch it again.

Orange Is The New Black

You need to watch this immediately. It's available on Netflix and it's completely compelling. There are only 13 episodes and it does take a few to warm up but once it does, it's excellent. It's about Piper, a nice white middle-class woman who ends up serving time for a crime she committed in her rather more wild past.

Every prison cliche is here: sadistic guards, lesbian love, bullying, petty vendettas. Actually the one thing missing is an escape plan. This is no Escape from Alcatraz. Every episode we're introduced to another inmate's back story and by the end of the season you pretty much care about all of them. Every episode I had a new favourite but I think if I had to pick one, it would be Crazy Eyes, who in a very sweet scene asks Piper why everyone calls her Crazy Eyes.

I can't recommend OITB highly enough. Watch it, you won't be sorry. 

Favourite scenes in Friends - The One With Rachel's Other Sister

I've not done of these for a while but I saw this episode this week and laughed like a drain. This is one of my all-time favourite Friends episodes, every character is written perfectly and Christina Applegate is wonderful.

Let's assess:

Joey: the sub-plot about Joey forgetting to show up to the Days of our Lives Thanksgiving parade and Phoebe teaching him how to lie still makes me laugh. Racoons! When Phoebe says to him "No! No racoons!" I always giggle. Also, when Rachel and Amy fight and Monica says "somebody do something!" Joey replies "Stop them? Throw some jello on them!"

Rachel: the inner-bitchiness of Rachel is one of my favourite things about her. When Amy says Jill (their sister) gained 15 pounds, Rachel simply asks, "face or ass?" I love that.

Monica: Monica and her fancy plates. Bless her. When she tells them all to eat their food without using the plates and then a scene or two later insists she is fun, Phoebe's response about how she's all about the fun while trying to eat her meal without a plate is hilarious.

Chandler: this isn't so much Chandler's episode but he does get to call Monica Crazy Plate Lady.

Phoebe: Phoebe gets some great lines in this but it's all about the racoons.

Ross: Not normally one I guffaw at but he's good here. Rachel: "I would like to invite Amy to Thanksgiving." Ross: "It'll be like the pilgrims bringing the Indians syphilis." I just googled how to spell syphilis and it was on the images page. I am going to have nightmares.

Anyway, the entire discussion about who gets Emma if Rachel and Ross die is brilliant. Joey: "Who has to die for me to get her?" Amy not realising she's met them before is also hysterical. Her insistence to Monica: "No, she was this really fat girl who followed Rachel around!"

I don't think there is a dud moment in the entire episode. Even Jennifer Aniston's hair looks beyond great in this. I still miss Friends and I think I always will.

A Chorus Line

I adore A Chorus Line. I think it's one of the best musicals there is and I am very fussy about my musicals as I may have mentioned. Back in April, I went to see it on stage (with my sister of course, who else?) and I wasn't expecting anything particularly amazing yet it blew me away. I love that it starts with a great number. No waiting about for 10 minutes before you get a song, this gets right into it with 'I Hope I Get It'. From the top, 5, 6, 7, 8... and I just want to get up and dance baby. 

I love how it tells the story of the backing dancers and singers. I've often wondered how people end up doing that for a living. It just looks so hard and they don't get paid much. But this show tells us! They do it for the love. The love of dancing, of being on the stage, of performing! 

I often listen to the soundtrack from the original Broadway show on my way home from work and it makes me want to skip along the pavement and burst into song. So far I have restrained myself. My friend from New York says she loves this show so much that she wells up just hearing the opening notes. I am not quite that emotional about it but I understand where she's coming from. After all, everything is beautiful at the ballet.

The worst thing about this show is that they can't all make the final line-up. By the end of the two hours, you want them all to be stars. There are a couple of stand out songs for me, first up is Dance Ten, Looks Three. Here's Cliff Barnes' girlfriend singing it. The lyrics are fabulous.

I also love One of course. It's really best not to judge A Chorus Line on the film. Much as it's a bad film we love, this is a show made for the stage. You need to sit and transport yourself to Broadway. God, I hope I get it...

Clint Eastwood

Clint Eastwood did not form part of my childhood, I have no recollection of watching any films in which he featured. If you ask me to name a Clint film, I'd say Dirty Harry but I've never seen it. However, Netflix is changing all this. In the last few days I've watched In The Line Of Fire and Escape from Alcatraz and something of a crush is forming. Yes, 45 years after the rest of the world, I am seeing Clint Eastwood for what he is; a hunk!

Also, he is a very good actor. Escape from Alcatraz is well worth a watch if you've not seen it. My main amusement point is that it features Mr Heckles from Friends! Yes, the crazy downstairs neighbour is Clint's next door jail mate. This threw for me for at least 45 minutes of the film as he looks exactly the same. What struck me watching it is how films didn't used to feel the need to either have action or dialogue every single second. Much of Escape from Alcatraz features scenes in which Clint is digging, escaping (in real time so fairly slowly) or just musing. It was also filmed on Alcatraz so it's a bit spooky. It's genuinely a good film, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

In The Line Of Fire. Well! How have I never seen this? A film about secret security that I had missed. Rene Russo, John Malkovich, our friend Clint and Frasier's father. It's a dream cast! It's 20 years old and Clint was 63 when he made it but I have to say he's hot. The scene where he kisses Rene had me thinking yes, I totally would. There's something very manly about him. He's a sexist pig in this film but nonetheless, yes.

So now I am going to leave you with various Clint pictures, remind you he is 83 (he's looking good) and ask you to recommend me some more Clint films as I am on a mission.

Nile Rodgers

Nile Rodgers. Truly a living legend. I know the thing to do when asked to identify your favourite guitarist is to say Jimi Hendrix, Eddie Van Halen, Jimmy Page or even Slash. Yeah, I love those guys but seriously, Nile Rodgers is the man. The man behind Chic and Sister Sledge. He could have just done that and be the man but he's all over the place this summer as the man behind Get Lucky, the song of the summer. I love Daft Punk, I love Nile Rodgers, so I was always going to love this. The whole album is great.

However, did you know how many songs this man is responsible for? I'm Coming Out and My Old Piano - both by Diana Ross, and oh my word, Kissing With Confidence, one of my favourite 80s songs.

How did I never know this?

He produced The Reflex by Duran Duran, Like A Virgin by Madonna,  Let's Dance by David Bowie. I didn't know about any of these. I feel so dim, how did I not know he produced Let's Dance? I adore that song. It's got one of my favourite introductions to a pop song ever.

I am off to make a Nile playlist and bow down to the guy. What a talent. I am closing with my favourite Chic song. The one that makes me want to be in Manhattan in 1978. If only.

Dire Straits

Like any self-respecting 80s teenager, I went through my Dire Straits phase. Did you know Brothers in Arms is the seventh best selling UK album of all time? I bought it. Twice actually as I had on tape and then bought the CD.

I still like a few of the songs on it. Money For Nothing is a great song and I won't hear anything against it. A fabulous opening and Sting yodelling away, what more could you want? Brothers in Arms is a perfectly lovely song but I remember being irritated that they'd copied Aha with their video. Also, The West Wing played this for too long in an otherwise flawless episode from season 2. Your Latest Trick was Susan Tully's (Michelle from Eastenders if you are a bit slow) favourite song. I remember reading that in Smash Hits and thinking she had taste!

Ha!

However, my favourite song on the album was (and is) Walk of Life. I just love this. I don't know why but it makes me happy.

My searching to bring you this well-researched blog post tells me it's Mark Knopfler's birthday today. What a coincidence. He is 64 today, happy birthday Mark. I wonder if he still wears those headbands. Of course Dire Straits were about more than just one album but I am not going to linger over Romeo and Juliet or Sultans of Swing. For me, they were pretty much all about one album. And I am off to dig out my CD. I'll leave you with Susan's favourite.