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

Karl Lagerfeld successfully blocked the film's release in Germany by launching a lawsuit against the makers over a line spoken by Forest Whitaker's character calling Lagerfeld a thief. In the end, the film was released with the word "thief" masked by a beep.

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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

Spoofs Ieri oggi domani (1963)

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Soundtracks

These Boots are Made for Walkin'
Written by Lee Hazlewood
Performed by Sam Phillips

User Reviews

A Rare Miss From the Master

When you think of a Robert Altman film, what *should* come to mind are elements like bitingly sharp satire, clever takes on human interaction and a brilliant portrayal of the subject matter; in other words, a mirror is held up to the topic examined and reflected back to the audience with maybe a tweak, a twist or a knowing wink.

That's not the case with "Prêt-à-Porter" or "Ready To Wear," as it was released in its US theatrical run.

The problem with this film is a complete lack of focus and understanding about what happens during Market week in the fashion industry, what is important about it, and for this film, most crucially, what's interesting about it! The result shows that this time, the Auteur didn't do his homework.

The plot of the film is multi-layered, like all of Altman's work, so there's a lot going on, but each layer is more preposterous than the previous. Perhaps had only one of the threads been so off track, it could have still worked. However, with every element being a farcical storyline, it is simply too much to stomach.

Even with the all-star cast gathered on location in the City of Light, dealing with theft, love, murder, manipulation, a bald tattoo, a lot of champagne and a cliché about the sidewalks of that European capital, and... oh yeah! the world of fashion... you can confidently skip this chapter of the Altman story and know you didn't miss anything.