Friday, January 23, 2009

some like it not

Yes, I just made that ill-advised Marilyn Monroe movie title pun. Some Like It Hot is one of my all-time favorite movies. ("Nobody's perfect." Best closing line of a film. Ever.) And I've practically worn out my VHS copies of The Seven Year Itch and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, marking myself as a pretty big Marilyn Monroe fan (Jane Russell, too, but I digress). And I get why celebrities, advertisers, and stylists want to channel her. She's a beauty icon and screen goddess who met a tragic end, securing her status in film and pop culture mythology. But how many Monroe-inspired ad campaigns and editorials do we really need?

I loved the Kate Moss editorial "Performance" in the April 2006 issue of W, but was it really necessary for Drew Barrymore and Katherine Heigl to attempt her famous hairstyle on the red carpet? It just aged them and made them appear horribly dated. And who thought it was such a good idea for Lindsay Lohan to recreate "The Last Sitting" for New York Magazine (and to design a line of leggings named 6126, for Monroe's birthday)? Madonna and Nicole Kidman have gotten a good run out of "Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend," and Anna Nicole Smith's Guess ads practically exhausted our Monroe fascination in the 90s. And now Scarlett Johansson is starring as a Marilyn replica in the new campaign for D&G Cosmetics. Is anyone else underwhelmed?

I mean, it's pretty, but it's been done. Throw in the D&G/Giorgio Armani drama, Johansson's unnecessary album of Tom Waits covers, and my exhaustion of celebrities mistaking "looks like she's on Percocet" for "sultry" (Doesn't anyone pay attention to Tyra Banks? Dead eyes are the enemy!), and I just couldn't care less about the advertising images from D&G's cosmetics line. You bore me, Domenico and Stefano. And I grow weary of your posturing, Scarlett.

And I'm pretty sure Marilyn Monroe wouldn't have been caught dead in this lipstick.

3 comments:

Chloe said...

LOL. Tyra Banks and all of her infinite wisdom.

But I completely agree- I don't get it either. I understand the sexiness behind Marilyn Monroe, but I also think it's incredibly unsexy (and just plain awkward) to try to imitate someone else's sexiness. Right? I give this a big fat "MEH".

Kate B. said...

I also understand why people try to channel Marilyn Monroe. My issue arises when someone like ScarJo, who apparently has been deemed as iconically sexy in her own right, has to channel Monroe. Can't she just...I don't know...channel herself?

a tiny machine said...

i also think that the more people imitate/channel marilyn monroe, the more she becomes a caricature, and less an entertainer. i'm not saying she was a genius or anything, but she was definitely funny and talented. and her performances are becoming totally lost and she's turning into nothing more than an image or a look. it makes me kind of sad.