Ready to Wear (1994)

A chronicle of the interconnected lives of a group of people in the lead up to Paris Fashion Week.

Director:

Robert Altman

Writers:

Robert Altman, Barbara Shulgasser

Stars:

Sophia Loren, Julia Roberts, Marcello Mastroianni

Nominated for 2 Golden Globes. Another 3 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Marcello Mastroianni	...	Sergei (Sergio)
Sophia Loren	...	Isabella de la Fontaine
Jean-Pierre Cassel	...	Olivier de la Fontaine
Kim Basinger	...	Kitty Potter
Chiara Mastroianni	...	Sophie Choiset
Stephen Rea	...	Milo O'Brannigan
Anouk Aimée	...	Simone Lowenthal (as Anouk Aimee)
Rupert Everett	...	Jack Lowenthal
Rossy de Palma	...	Pilar (as Rossy De Palma)
Tara Leon	...	Kiki Simpson
Georgianna Robertson	...	Dane Simpson
Lili Taylor	...	Fiona Ulrich
Ute Lemper	...	Albertine
Forest Whitaker	...	Cy Bianco
Tom Novembre	...	Reggie

Storyline

A fashion show in Paris draws the usual bunch of people; designers, reporters, models, magazine editors, photographers. Lots of unconnected stories which all revolve around this show, and an all-star cast.

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Plot Keywords:

fashion | fashion show | journalist | fashion industry | pantyhose | 

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Taglines:

At the world's hottest fashion show, there's been a murder and now everyone's a suspect. If you've got something to hide, you'll need something to wear.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and nudity

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English French Italian Russian Spanish

Release Date:

25 December 1994 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ready to Wear

Filming Locations:

Champs Elysées, Paris 8, Paris, France

Box Office

Budget:

$18,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$11,300,653

Company Credits

Production Co:

Etalon Film, Miramax

Technical Specs

Runtime:

133 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Reunites Marcello Mastroianni and Anouk Aimee who starred as husband and wife in 8 1/2 (1963).

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Goofs

In the hotel room, Anne Eisenhower lifts a glass of wine from Joe Flynn's dining cart with her left hand and takes a drink. Joe makes a comment and it can be seen that Anne's left arm is up to her face (she is visible from the chest down), but when we cut back to Anne the glass is in her right hand as she puts it down.

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Quotes

[first lines]
[subtitled version - opening lines are in French, the English subtitles are a very rough translation]
Olivier de la Fontaine: [opening letter] Moscow? What's this about? Put that on the desk. Dear Mr. de la Fontaine: blah, blah, blah, blah... blah, blah, blah, blah...
Isabella de la Fontaine: [to dog] Robin. Robin. I told you not to! It's dirty. You shouldn't do that. Not in the house.
[to Olivier de la Fontaine]
Isabella de la Fontaine: You're a shit.

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Crazy Credits

The film's opening scene where Mastroianni buys the 2 Dior ties is set in Moscow's Red Square and the first 2 lines of credits (a Miramax production and a Robert Altman film) appear solely in Cyrillic characters

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Connections

Referenced in The Divorce (2003)

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Soundtracks

70's Love Groove
Written by Jimmy Jam, Janet Jackson and Terry Lewis
Performed by Janet Jackson

User Reviews

Threadbare Altman

I missed Ready to Wear when it was released in 1994, and finally rented the film. I had great anticipation. The fashion industry was the next to squirm under Mr. Altman's cinematic scalpel. Altman assembled a large, talented ensemble cast as usual. The locale is the annual prêt-à-porter fashion show in Paris, as a multitude of characters descend on hotels, fashion houses, restaurants, and runways; their stories intertwining and crisscrossing across a pastiche of interlocking plotlines. It'll be just like Nashville, in other words, another Altman tour de force.

Oddly and sadly, it's nothing of the sort. Ready to Wear loses its way early, and drifts aimlessly along for its lengthy 133 minute runtime. The characters lack the depth of his other films; they're poorly defined and you never really feel you get to know them. The dialogue is shallow and lacks bite. Even the little things tend to annoy; why use sidewalk dog poop as a unifying symbol? What's the point to that?

All in all I found Ready to Wear disappointing and probably my least favorite of Altman's films.