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)

Opening Weekend USA:

$2,026,295, 26 December 1994

Gross USA:

$11,300,653

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$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

Rupert Everett greatly disliked Danny Aiello, claiming that the latter had been extremely sycophantic towards Marcello Mastroianni and rude to several others.

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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 Jersey Girl (2004)

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Soundtracks

Close to You
Written by The Brand New Heavies (uncredited)
Performed by The Brand New Heavies (as Brand New Heavies)

User Reviews

An amusing shaggy-dog story, Emperor's New Clothes variety

It's hard to understand why so many reputable critics have vilified this film, which is in Altman's Nashville mode—and indeed includes many of the elements that made that earlier film such a critical success. Both address the hypocrisy and viciousness of a big money-making industry, by interweaving a number of loosely connected stories acted by a large celebrity cast. Some of these stories work better than others, in both films; as a previous reviewer noted, in Pret-à-Porter, they all hinge on the central theme of betrayal, with a cumulative effect that is saddening as well as amusing.

The principal difference between the two films lies in the way they end. Nashville is closed off (to my mind, unconvincingly) by an assassination at a political rally. Ready to Wear ends with a breathtakingly beautiful, even erotic acting-out of the story of the Emperor's New Clothes, where almost none of the fashion-industry types realize that the bankrupt designer has clothed all of her models in...nothing. The only one who does get the joke is the clueless and incompetent reporter (Kim Basinger, from Texas, doing a fine retake on Geraldine Chaplin's annoying role in Nashville), who stalks off in a huff.

Apparently lots of critics stalked off in a huff, too. That's too bad, since the film has lots of good qualities. But you miss the point if you don't realize that it's all leading up to that big shaggy-dog-story punchline.