Over the years, more than a few films have dealt with
fashion: The Devil Wears Prada, Sex
and the City, Silence of the Lambs...
But unless Michael Bay thinks we can wear a Buick, Hollywood has lately been
remiss in dictating what clothes we should covet. Some of us could definitely
use the help, especially those (ahem, not naming names) whose ensembles of
khakis, gray turtlenecks, and white New Balances piloted their virginity
through high school with Chesley Sullenburger-like assurance. Luckily, past
fashions can point toward the future. Everything old is new again eventually
(or sooner if you’re Coldplay), so when the Brattle Theatre (40 Brattle
Street, Cambridge, 617.876.6837) runs its 25th, 50th, and 75th reunion
repertory series, held in conjunction with Harvard’s alumni reunion weekend;
June 5 to 7, pay attention to the period trends. They could be coming back.
Visit www.brattlefilm.org for tickets and show times.
Some Like It Hot
This isn’t just one of the great American comedies; it’s
also a guide on how men should dress in order to attract women. The answer is,
strangely enough, like women. (Apparently, 1959 was weirder than people
remember.) Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis, and Marilyn Monroe never touched greatness
like this again, and the film is a much funnier take on
cross-dressing than The Crying Game or Dressed
to Kill. In brief: Lemmon and Curtis, on the run, disguise
themselves as female musicians to join an all-girl band fronted by Monroe. When
they both fall in love with her, Curtis re-disguises himself as a millionaire
to woo her; meanwhile, Lemmon (in drag) fights off advances from an actual male
millionaire. The movie plays four times on Friday; you owe it to yourself to
see two or three of them.
Double Feature: Ghostbusters
/
A Nightmare on Elm Street
Though released 25 years ago, these films have timeless
fashions: there’s just something about gray jumpsuits, tattered sweaters, and
razorblade nails that screams “classic.” And Bill Murray looks like a badass
whether he’s covered in slime or not. Interesting trivia: Nightmare
writer/director Wes Craven designed the wardrobe of his film’s child
murderer Freddy Krueger with an eye for jarring color combinations, which
coincidentally is the same way most hipsters dress themselves today. (That’s
not to suggest some skinny-jeaned irony addict will kill you in your dreams,
but we’d still advise against dozing off at Urban Outfitters.)
Double Feature: The Man
Who Knew Too Much / North
by Northwest
North by Northwest inadvertently
says something about the relentless formality of ’50s fashion: though he’s
being chased through a field by a plane outfitted with a machine gun, Cary
Grant never once considers loosening his tie. Then again, Alfred Hitchcock did
direct all of his movies in a suit, so maybe it makes sense. The film is paired
with another Hitchcock classic, the weekend’s only 75-year-old offering, which
looks good for its age (especially now that the fedora has made a comeback).
The 1934 version of The Man Who Knew Too Much may be less slick
than the 1956 remake starring Jimmy Stewart, but it’s more experimental and a
trendsetter in its own way: the child-kidnapped-for-blackmail story has been
ripped off and remade roughly 100,000 times.
