Ditto on previous comments. The first time I've actually been angered by the filmmakers ignorance, ineptitude and insistence in hogging the camera. She simply doesn't get it, -the subject matter, or how to make a film- and the result is a deeply disappointing non-documentary on what is a rich and wonderful subject matter. So much time is wasted on Liz Goldwyn practicing (bizarrely) en pointe, being fitted for a non-burlesque costume, singing in a studio (lingering, pointless closeup of her 20k Cartier bracelet) and thinly veiling her interest in the aged dancers giving her their costumes ('OOOH! I'd love to wear that OUT' to which Sherry Briton explains she 'can't have it'). It's embarrassing to watch.
She's an inarticulate interviewer, misses the points being made to her and complains endlessly that she doesn't want to get naked or let anyone see anything while she awkwardly paws their dresses and tries them on. It's maddening. I have to wonder if the editors and people who worked alongside her weren't sending her up a bit by including the revealing material.
The second insult is the fact that none of today's women who have been reviving the art form with well-known and widely traveled burlesque shows aren't even discussed.
HBO should pull this, salvage the footage of many of the now deceased performers, remove all footage and comments by Goldwyn and hand the project over to an able filmmaker. The queens of Burlesque deserve much better.
She's an inarticulate interviewer, misses the points being made to her and complains endlessly that she doesn't want to get naked or let anyone see anything while she awkwardly paws their dresses and tries them on. It's maddening. I have to wonder if the editors and people who worked alongside her weren't sending her up a bit by including the revealing material.
The second insult is the fact that none of today's women who have been reviving the art form with well-known and widely traveled burlesque shows aren't even discussed.
HBO should pull this, salvage the footage of many of the now deceased performers, remove all footage and comments by Goldwyn and hand the project over to an able filmmaker. The queens of Burlesque deserve much better.