http://www.the-nextlevel.com/board/a...1&d=1252420671
http://www.the-nextlevel.com/board/a...1&d=1252420671
Netflix (also available for streaming)
Amazon DVD
IMDB Link
IMDB Synopsis:So Im thinking about the movie club selection, and I felt TNL was missing out on romantic comedies in the list. Here is a good one with lots of emphasis on fashion design. It has some hot naked chicks and even Jeff Goldblum!Quote:
'Perfume' chronicles one week in the lives of over a dozen people involved in the magazine and entertainment business of New York City. The central characters include Italian designer Lorenzo Mancini who learns that he's dying from cancer and decides to get his affairs in order with his wife Irine and his business partner Guido. Lorenzo's son Mario is a recording promoter who's latest client is hip-hop rapper J.B.. Roberta is a designer hard-pressed to fill out a latest dress design for the next Broadway show her group is putting on. Other characters are Jamie, a crafty agent whose latest client, Camille finds success but affects their relationship in ways he never planned and fails to deal with. Leese Hotton is a has-been model/actress trying to make a comeback into the spotlight; Janice Crawford is a wealthy publisher and control freak whose problems escalate with the arrival of her estranged teenage daughter Halley whom Janice abandoned her and everything else for her career years ago.
I had been waiting for this movie to hit the theaters after having read about its showing at Sundance, and was quite surprised to see that it went directly to dvd. Especially with such a deep cast.
At first I couldn't tell whether it was a comedy or docudrama. Having seen it I still wonder.
Rather than one storyline this movie is about several. There is the designer (Rita Wilson) whose partner (Leslie Mann) has left her to seek fortune elsewhere. There is the Versace-esque Italian designer (Paul Sirvino) who must face health and family crises. There is the photographer (Jared Harris) juggling work and personal relationship. Then there's the magazine editor (Joanne Baron) whose abandoned daughter (Michelle Williams) suddenly reappears in her life.
Director Rymer wants to give the audience an inside look at the fashion industry, and he does accomplish this on several levels. The designer's assistants following her everywhere; the brief but very real segment of shuffling seating assignments for a fashion show; the editor's assistant (Angela Bettis) screening for her worshipped boss. Some of the exchanges are readily identifiable to all (photographer and girlfriend), some are true-to-life but foreign to those outside the industry (designer and her assistants) but some are so last season (conglomerate quoting Henry James).
What this film needs is more attitude. We see the backstabbing and false niceties, but the only part of the movie that reflects the snobbishness prevalent in the industry is at the reception desk at the magazine office.
Those without first-hand experience with New Yorkers might doubt the dialogue, but it is largely faithful. It is however also highly inconsistent--at times the scenes, the ones that worked, seemed unscripted (reportedly there was some improvisation) and at times it is so spoofy goofy you wonder how many different writers were behind it. Because of the quick pace, you pay attention to the exchanges and not overly scrutinize the acting. You won't get to see too much of the inner workings of the fashion industry, but you could familiarize yourself with its personalities. If you don't sigh paying two bucks for a bottle of Evian, then surely you can have some fun with this movie.
Summary: Like New York and the fashion industry, fast and fun, but lots of loose threads.
Note: Don't be fooled! Carmen Electra's name appearing on the main credits (i.e., cover of the dvd) is ludicrous and an obvious marketing ploy. She appears in just a couple of scenes and a total of maybe five minutes in the movie. The same could be said with several others...Estella Warren, prominently featured as the poster girl for this release, is merely in an opening scene and a closing one. One glaring omission in the main credits but a standout in the movie is Jared Harris, who gave a very convincing performance as the fashion photographer having to deal with egos on the job and go home to a girlfriend whose demands he can't quite satisfy.
