Pret A Porter is a movie which takes a satirical look at the chaotic fashion industry. It follows almost forty odd famous faces including top actors, designers, models and their supporting crew for the fashion show in Paris. Directed by Robert Altmann, it stars Lauren Bacall (Slim Chrysler), Kim Basinger (Kitty Potter), Linda Hunt (Regina Krumm), Sally Kellerman (Sissy Wanamaker), Sophia Loren (Isabella de la Fontaine), Marcello Mastroianni (Sergei), Stephen Rea (Milo O'Brannagan), Tim Robbins (Joe Flynn), Julia Roberts (Anne Eisenhower), Danny Aiello (Major Hamilton), Anouk Aimee (Simone Lowenthal), Jean-Pierre Cassel (Olivier de la Fontaine), Teri Garr (Louise Hamilton), Richard E. Grant (Cort Romney), Tracey Ullman (Nina Scant) and Forest Whitaker (Cy Bianco).
With these number of stars the film is like a all flavored cake which does not impart any taste. As far as I could identify there are three plots running through the film. The first being that of two American Journalists, Joe Flynn and Anne Eisenhower, who lose their luggage in the flight and are forced by circumstances to share a hotel room. So with no clothes on and twin beds there is much more happening than news mongering. Another happenings include Isabella De La Fontaine is a widow who has inherited a great fashion label and hardly misses her philandering husband.
He is more mourned by his mistress Simone Lowenthal. Sophia is followed by Sergei who is in-fact her one true love. Simone on the other hand tries hard to keep her company from being pirated away. Another group like Regina Krumm, Nina Scant and Sissy Wanamaker are all rival fashion Magazine editors trying to get ace photographer Milo O'Brannagan on their side. Milo specializes in baring the celebrities to their ineptitude self and catches many a socialite at their most vulnerable self.
So among these unconnected story lines each of which can be a film in itself, other characters weave in and out. This meandering of actors through the plots gives the viewer severe migraines. So you have the color blind socialite Slim Chrysler, cross dressing buyer Danny Hamilton and his wife along with a melange of real life designers, like Issay Miayake Gianfranco Ferre, and Sonia Rykiel and models looking equally flabbergasted as the others. The only saving grace is news reporter Kitty Porter who is a ditsy journalist who nails the industry with some sly one liners.
This movie could have been a scorching satire, but is reduced to a also ran as the vicious zing is missing. The all bared attack and the real realities of the obsequious and coquettish industry is not presented robbing the film of its meat. The screenplay brings confusing plots together to stitch a garment which neither fits nor floats. This ill fitting presentation deprives Pret a Porter the greatness it could have attained. The film also has lot of sex scenes and full frontal nudity during a catwalk scene. In fact being a film about Fashion there is nothing much to look forward to about fashion or models, even the clothes horses and the clothes featured are insipid and the fashion shows, a rip off from fashion TV. As the film mentions “it is all about looking good”, but this one advice the movie itself never takes. Nothing much to recommend as its confusing and boring.
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