Forest Whitaker Quote of the Month: July 2006

Pret-a-Porter (or Ready to Wear for you French-phobic folks) is one of Robert Altman's lesser efforts. As with most of his films, it starts out looking very promising with a huge cast of recognizable faces. But all of those faces have only their own small subplots to deal with and little else. Though Altman made a similar scenario work with Short Cuts, it's not working here.

The trailer (which may or may not have been approved by Altman. I'm guessing the later) gives the impression that there is an overall story arc involving Julia Roberts, Tim Robbins and a murder mystery. Instead, Roberts and Robbins are stuck in their hotel room most of the film with little to do except get drunk and make out. And as for the murder, there is little mystery about it as the audience knows at the time it happens that it isn't murder but rather an accident. It's all a bit disappointing.

But at least we have Forest Whitaker to liven things up a bit. He plays a gay New York fashion designer named Cy Bianco who gets some great, bitchy lines. One of the very first involves his shock at fashion model Albertine (Ute Lemper) showing up for his show at about eight months into her pregnancy.

Cy - "Albertine, you could have called me."

Albertine - "I was in Germany."

Cy - "Oh, Oh, I am crazy, I am crazy! Or did the goddamn Germans invent the telephone?"