“I Mean…What?!?” – Abe Gurko

Last night I went to a screening of A Single Man, Tom Ford‘s maiden voyage into film making. There has been plenty of hype around his wanting to be a director since the day he left Gucci five years ago. He made all the right moves, too. Bought a fierce house in the desert near Palm Springs, schmoozed up Bryan Lourd at CAA and totally made the scene in Los Angeles, yet chose New York to launch his signature clothing company. Ford’s return to the schmatta business was a subtle hint that Hollywood was not waiting for the fashion superstar to green light a project. There is no waltzing into the entertainment business without a bit of struggle, at least. So, rather than selling pencils as most hopefuls have in the City of Angels, Tom came to New York, set up his cool bespoke shop in an effort to live up to the adage, “If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere”. And so the tale goes.

Now, I am not a reviewer (per se), rather, an avid film goer and a critical bitch. As expected, the film looks impeccable however the movie is just OK. Julianne Moore is almost great, the British accent was just good, she looks stunning. The dinner scene is the best part of the movie. It’s almost the only part of the film where there is real tension and conflict. The rest of the film glides along, slowly. And some of the dialogue is, well, it’s his first time out of the gate, so I’ll be nice. But it needed a polish. All the hoopla around this film is beyond me. Well, let me take that back. It is actually par for the course now that we have the entire entertainment industry trying their hand in the fashion industry. So, why not the other way around? Don’t you see a burgeoning trend here? Need I say more with the critical success of Valentino: The Last Emperor? Mark my words kiddies…it’s just a matter of time before we see the Marc Jacobs’ remake of Lolita, Rick Owen’s take on The Warriors or Ralph Lauren’s redo of The Great Gatsby. Call me crazy but clock this conversation. It makes perfect sense because it is a two-hour promotional perfect storm. Why advertise in Vogue or Vanity Fair when you can have all those people eating out of your hands at a premiere in Venice or Cannes? But, what do I know? I’m just a Purveyor of Pop Culture.