In 1958, aspiring photographer Colin is photographing the hip London scene. He loves model Crepe Suzette (Patsy Kensit) who is only interested in gaining fame. She crashes the catwalk of old style fashion designer Henley of Mayfair (James Fox) who is forced to appropriate her wild antics as his own creation. Colin befriends society king Vendice Partners (David Bowie).
The lead has no charisma. He needs some boyish charms. Without it, the movie struggles with a hole at its center. His character doesn't even like the world in his pictures and the audience returns the favor. He has a big overturning-the-tables turn and the movie tries to sell it as rebelling against the establishment. The problem is that I don't think he likes the alternative either. His character doesn't seem to like anything. He's a grumpy teenager. I waited a long time for David Bowie to show up but even his star power cannot save this. Quite frankly, this should be his movie, not the kid. He's the most interesting performer. Kensit is fine but she's just an object. The production is uneven with some stagey production while other parts are fake realism. It's both too glossy and too grimy at the same time. I don't mind the fake stage reality but it's an awkward mix. As a musical, it does have one great David Bowie song but otherwise, it is uneven as the actors do their own singing. Sade is a nightclub singer and that's fun. It's an uneven mix. The subject matter also gets uneven while dealing with some serious racial matters as well as fake fame issues. Other successful musicals have done the mix much better but this one struggles. This is a British flop. I don't know much about it. It came and went without much notice across the pond. At least, it's an interesting flop.
The lead has no charisma. He needs some boyish charms. Without it, the movie struggles with a hole at its center. His character doesn't even like the world in his pictures and the audience returns the favor. He has a big overturning-the-tables turn and the movie tries to sell it as rebelling against the establishment. The problem is that I don't think he likes the alternative either. His character doesn't seem to like anything. He's a grumpy teenager. I waited a long time for David Bowie to show up but even his star power cannot save this. Quite frankly, this should be his movie, not the kid. He's the most interesting performer. Kensit is fine but she's just an object. The production is uneven with some stagey production while other parts are fake realism. It's both too glossy and too grimy at the same time. I don't mind the fake stage reality but it's an awkward mix. As a musical, it does have one great David Bowie song but otherwise, it is uneven as the actors do their own singing. Sade is a nightclub singer and that's fun. It's an uneven mix. The subject matter also gets uneven while dealing with some serious racial matters as well as fake fame issues. Other successful musicals have done the mix much better but this one struggles. This is a British flop. I don't know much about it. It came and went without much notice across the pond. At least, it's an interesting flop.