Gentlemen Prefer Blondes at Film Forum
We're on a Howard Hawks–Marilyn Monroe kick lately. In Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, showing at Film Forum, Monroe teams with Jane Russell to portray a pair of entertainers looking for love. They sing, they dance, they make campy double entendres and say things like "have fun, son" and "he's on the level."
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Monroe plays smarter-than-she-acts Lorelei Lee, who loves diamonds and money, and Russell plays pragmatic Dorthy Shaw, who mostly wants to have no-frills sex. It's garish and ridiculous and a fine, silly way to spend a sweltering summer afternoon. Plus, we finally got to see the origin of Madonna's Material Girl video --- a significant milestone for the one of us who spent most of 1984 in bandanas and jelly bracelets.
Whereas Monroe's hotness transcends time, on screen Russell looked mannish and sharp. But what's really apparent from watching these old movies is how much standards of attractiveness for men have changed. During an extended dance number called "Ain't There Anyone Here for Love," Russell cavorts with half-naked members of an Olympic swim team: while some have washboard abs and firm pecs, some are bald and paunchy. Monroe's love interest, while wealthy, looks like a bulbous toad; Russell's fella is just plain unmemorable. In today's movies, even the extras are gorgeous.
Photos: thanks and thanks
_06.jpg)
Monroe plays smarter-than-she-acts Lorelei Lee, who loves diamonds and money, and Russell plays pragmatic Dorthy Shaw, who mostly wants to have no-frills sex. It's garish and ridiculous and a fine, silly way to spend a sweltering summer afternoon. Plus, we finally got to see the origin of Madonna's Material Girl video --- a significant milestone for the one of us who spent most of 1984 in bandanas and jelly bracelets.
Whereas Monroe's hotness transcends time, on screen Russell looked mannish and sharp. But what's really apparent from watching these old movies is how much standards of attractiveness for men have changed. During an extended dance number called "Ain't There Anyone Here for Love," Russell cavorts with half-naked members of an Olympic swim team: while some have washboard abs and firm pecs, some are bald and paunchy. Monroe's love interest, while wealthy, looks like a bulbous toad; Russell's fella is just plain unmemorable. In today's movies, even the extras are gorgeous.
Photos: thanks and thanks
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