Ready to Wear (1994)

Robert Altman delivers another sprawling satire with READY TO WEAR, this time focusing his lens on the tightly knit, pretentious fashion industry. After a popular fashion leader dies during the most important industry gathering of the year in Paris, the question that it might have been murder creates chaos amongst the gathered participants and viewers. Affected parties include his widow, who uses this opportunity to rekindle an old relationship; the dead man's mistress, a designer who is forced to sell out to a Texas boot tycoon; three magazine editors, who all have their eyes on the same photographer; two American reporters whose affair keeps them in bed throughout the gathering; and two aging Roman lovers who are reuniting after many years. The film's many revolving characters and stories collide at the climax, an all-nude fashion show that stuns and excites the crowd. Altman's comedy boasts one of his most star-studded casts, and actors who are playing fictional characters intermingle with popular designers and models who play themselves. This fresh mixing of fiction and reality recalls the director's thrilling THE PLAYER, and the multi-layered story, the masterful NASHVILLE. Standout performances include the late Marcello Mastroianni, Sophia Loren, Tim Robbins, Julia Roberts, Tracey Ullman, and a hysterical Kim Basinger.