Advanced Style (DVD REVIEW)
Advanced
Style
DVD
Review by Kam Williams
Fashion Documentary Focuses Lens on Ageless Ladies
We live in a culture which
unfortunately equates beauty with youth. Why else are so many women to make a
joke of their own faces so long as the skin remains as tight as a ten year
old’s? As the late Joan Rivers, a big fan of cosmetic surgery, might ask: Can
we talk?
For, flying in the face of
this conventional wisdom is Ari Seth Cohen, a street photographer who roams
around Manhattan
looking for flamboyant elderly females to capture with his camera. He even has
a blog, Advanced Style (http://advancedstyle.blogspot.com/)
dedicated to portraits of these classy ladies ranging in age from 60 to 95.
The website generated so
much interest that we now have Advanced Style, the movie, a documentary
featuring some of his most attractive subjects. The picture marks the
“Fabulous!” directorial of Lina Plioplyte who makes quite the splash simply by
shedding light on seven, ageless fashion plates.
There’s Jackie Tajah
Murdock, 81, who was a dancer at the Apollo during the famed theater’s heydays,
and Lynn Dell Cohen, 80, the self-proclaimed “Countess of Glamour.” The baby of
the group is Tziporah Salamon, 62 who rides around the city on a pimped-out
bicycle. And at the other extreme we have the group’s elder stateswoman, Zelda
Kaplan, 95, who has a good sense of humor about being a little addlepated.
Rounding out the crew are
Ilona Royce Smithkin, 93; Joyce Carpati, 80; and Deborah Rapoport, 67. What
they all seem to share is an infectious zest for life and for looking their
best that they can’t help but share with anyone they meet. Ostensibly for the
sake of a plot, the picture inexorably works its way to the ladies being feted,
whether they’re landing a contract with Lanvin, making an appearance on Ricki Lake’s
TV talk show, or just strutting their stuff during Fashion Week.
But it all seems secondary
to the obvious fact that natural aging lines can look every bit as good if not
better than Botox and face lifts. The best antidote around to America’s unhealthy obsession with
youth!
Excellent (3.5 stars)
Unrated
Running
time: 72 minutes
Distributor:
Bond360
DVD
Extras: Packed with tons of extra footage including conversations with the
ladies about the aging process and about sex, and with some fun scenes that
will make you want to dress up and approach each day a little more vibrantly.
To
see a trailer for Advanced Style, visit:
To
order a copy of Advanced Style on DVD, visit:
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