mediocrity is not a mortal sin

After hearing that Daniel Radcliff (he pulls at my geeky heart strings) was going to be in the latest production of How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying on Broadway, we immediately had to revisit this amazing movie. We first discovered it while Elle was on a musical kick and feel in love with it's colorful charm. A major influence on Mad Men, it tells the story of a young man determined to get to the top of the ladder with the least amount of effort; aka Mad men with more singing and dancing.


When I do these posts, I usually make a list of my favorite things and work them into paragraphs. However, once I took a look at my list this time I felt like it perfectly summarized everything I love about the styling! Filled with kick pleats, candy colored dresses, contrasting colors, a variety of necklines, perfectly slim fitting suits, helmet hair, delightfully high up-dos, bouncy, perfect curls, heavy rimmed eyes and barely-there lipstick I'm jealous of everyone in their polyester glory.

Complimenting the wardrobe, the scenery and people are color coordinated in Rainbow-ed hues. Sets are heavily influenced with geometric architecture and amazing patterned paint jobs; my favorite room being the"Dr. Evil" office of the head honcho. He would look perfect with a white puff ball cat in his arms but instead he chooses to knit in his spare time (secretly).

Despite the gorgeous wardrobe/sets, what really makes this movie worth watching again and again is the characters. Robert Morse (Who plays Bertram Cooper in Mad Men) gushes charisma with his mischievous faces and goofy grins over his leading lady. Hijinks that would not work in any other movie make sense and fast-paced writing flows comfortably and turns into charming interactions with cheeky comments. Add an acutely seductive redheaded ditz with an amazing name (Hedy Leroux); it's a perfect date night movie (seriously, every guy I've made watch it loves it).


Since we are on the topic of music and missed this week's Sunday song, why not enjoy my favorite song from the movie:

bar-bar-bar-bar-barbarella

Easily my favorite type of movies are the ones that are so bad they are good. There seems to be much more going on in the backgrounds, experimental shots, and I believe a limited budget opens up a director to more creative solutions (see: George Lucas past vs. today). Possibly my favorite one of all (maybe favorite movie in general, it's really hard to choose) is the marvelous Barbarella. A camp classic, follows Jane Fonda in the future as the always sexy Barbarella adventuring to a new planet to find the long lost scientist Durand-Durand (yes, that's the origin of the band name).


Set in the 41st century, future fashion is full of metallic textures, fur, chain metal, and plastics; all as leotards with matching boots of course (also inspiring the fashions in the fifth element). Barbarella's clothing always manages to get partially torn of in one way or another during her adventures letting the viewer enjoy multiple outfit changes (my favorite being the fur number above). Although none of the outfits would be good for daily wear they would all make amazing Halloween costumes! Wardrobe is perfectly matched to the sex bomb theme with large hair, nude lips, and lots of black eye liner.


Scenes of danger are particularity wonderful as she seems to be always attacked by items completely harmless in real life. When she crashes her ship, strange sets of identical twins kidnap her only to have creepy little dolls attack her with razor sharp metal teeth (this scene creeps J out as he hates porcelain dolls). As parakeets start to peck her to death she says wonderful lines like, "this is really much too poetic of a way to die" and "a good many dramatic situations begin with screaming." Thankfully, luck seems to be on her side as someone always seems to appear last minute or miraculously a trap door is lays underneath her.


A sign of the times, landscapes are purely sixties with rainbows of color and trippy scenery. Space seems to be comprised of pink and blue lights on water droplets and gradient backgrounds. And when Barbarella is trapped in the dream chamber after having her invisible key stolen, we experience intense oil and water skies and tar-like swamps. I can't help but be impressed with the artist special effects as they surely are a treat to the eyes.

watch as I take of my bear suit to reveal....another bear suit!

This post may seem long but one of the reason I hate doing movie screen shots is there are always too many to choose from! I end of cutting a bunch of pretty shots so I won't kill load times so feel free to check out the rest on flickr.

Speaking of umbrellas..

When it comes to movies, Jay and I believe the prettier the better. One of our favorites is Les Parapluies de Cherbourg or in English, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg. Being Jacques Demy's tribute to that American musical of the past every word is sung to a melodic tune and the scenes are drenched in vibrant colors. As my heart grows softer my eyes grew saltier watching the depressingly realistic love story.


The film gives me plenty of eye candy; with today's movies so sadly lacking in color it a refreshing treat. I love how every scene is full of rich colors of the rainbow favoring reds, pinks, and greens combined with elaborate wallpapers and striped details. Amazing things happen as they mix lemon, sea green, fuschia, red and purple in a small space yet somehow manage not to burn your retinas, instead pulling you in to a dreamlike world you wish you could live in.

On top of the lovely scenery the leading ladies have an amazing wardrobe I can only yearn for. Genevieve finds comfort in pastel colors, peter pan collars, bows, and scalloped edges (aka everything I want in my clothes). Meanwhile, her mother sticks to bright matching skirted suits that look perfect for the chic little umbrella shop. Guy stays a bit more basic in his wardrobe; blazers, button ups, and sweaters mainly but what truly defines the men's clothes for me in this movie are the jaunty little sailors strolling around town in every scene.



That hair! I wish I could share more pictures with you (I managed 87 gorgeous screenshots for a 91 minute movie!) but I didn't want to assault you loading times! Just trust us, you need to watch this as soon as possible.