Bling Ring

I saw the Bling Ring after it came out and have been obsessed with it ever since.  I'm a big Sophia Coppola fan from way back (I may be the only person in the universe who actually liked her in the Godfather III).  The Bling Ring is based on a Vanity Fair article turned book - The Subjects Wore Louboutins.  It's about these dumb kids that stole from a bunch of celebrities in LA.  One of the things I really loved about the movie was how it captures this rather particular LA motif, one that was also quite evident in her less well-received Somewhere which was, yes, very very boring but carefully so.  In fact,  a motif in Coppola's work is this exploration of how people behave or react when they have nothing to do.  This movie definitely reminded me of Somewhere due to the LA connection, but more than anything it reminded me of her Marie Antoinette.

What's really fun about the Bling Ring is watching Emma Watson break out of her Hermione role a bit and do things like this...

My god, that girl is so funny.  There's this hilarious line where she says, "I want to lead a huge charity organization. I want to lead a country, for all I know." Which Watson says in this spot on accent that made our whole theatre erupt in laughter.  Turns out the actual thief-girl ACTUALLY said that.  

The kids who break into these houses obviously are driven by this materialistic excess - they feel entitled to this stuff - they might think it came easily to Paris Hilton, so why shouldn't it come easily to me?  Repeat visits and the way they linger in the homes indicates a greater desire, however. That by lingering in their houses, going in and out almost as they please, they can imagine that they were friends with these celebrities - not just that, actually become the person themselves.  

I'm only mildly embarrassed to say that I also engage in a little celebrity obsession and spent a fair amount of time wondering what Sofia Coppola's experience is like - I mean, you'd think someone like her, the daughter of a famous director with untold resources would actually be the last person to be able to shine an objective eye on the world of celebrity and wealth.  Although, while I was (harmlessly?) cyber-stalking this movie, I happened across this rather telling picture that seems to indicate that somehow S. Coppola is more immune to the trappings of fame and wealth than other  people in similar situations.

I have to give PH a little credit though... there are these pillows with her face on them in the movie (scenes in her house were shot in her home), and I found an article where she says, "Those pillows with my face on it were actually a present from my girlfriend for my birthday, and I just thought they were so funny and hilarious." (via)  And now I totally want pillows with my face on them.

Well, I thought the movie was fantastic - I encourage you to check it out and let me know what you think too!  Here's an interview with Nancy Jo Sales, the author of the article, about the movie and the book.

Fashion and Modernity!

This weekend we saw the Fashion and Modernity show at the Art Institute - it was So! Fabulous! There are wonderful pieces from the AIC's permanent collection, of course, as well as a few beauties from Europe like Renoir's The Loge.  Gorge.

They included period clothes and HATS and SHOES OMGUCCI!  I felt like, that scene in the Bling Ring?  Where they break into Paris Hilton's shoe closet?

Like there's this painting, and next to it a dress that looks like this??????

And also there's a very nice show from Prints and Drawings called Undressed: The Fashion of Privacy.  In it are hanging a couple of my absolute favorite pieces from the collection - like Mary Cassatt's Mother and Child and a few prints from Felix Valletton's Intimités.