Ready to Wear

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Ready to Wear ★★ Pret-a-Porter 1994 (R)

Altman travels to Paris to take on the fashion industry with his trademark satire, ensemble cast, and cameo players in tow. The untimely death of a major industry player begins a swirl of random subplots involving a head-spinning array of fashion industry stereotypes. Loren and Mastroianni recreate their “Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow” boudoir striptease scene. Coterie of one-dimensional characters is set adrift with no discernable plot, which might make for interesting people watching, but results in a tedious movie. Altman did it better with “The Player” and “Short Cuts.” 132m/C VHS, DVD . Sophia Loren, Marcello Mastroianni, Julia Roberts, Tim Robbins, Kim Basinger, Stephen Rea, Anouk Aimee, Lauren Bacall, Lili Taylor, Sally Kellerman, Tracey Ullman, Linda Hunt, Rupert Everett, Forest Whitaker, Richard E. Grant, Danny Aiello, Teri Garr, Lyle Lovett, Jean Rochefort, Michel Blanc, Anne Canovos, Jean-Pierre Cassel, Francois Cluzet, Rossy de Palma, Kasia (Katarzyna) Figura, Sam Robards, Cher, Harry Belafonte, Issey Miyake, Sonia Rykiel, JeanPaul Gaultier, Thierry Mugler; D: Robert Altman; W: Barbara Shulgasser, Robert Altman; C: Jean Lepine, Pierre Mignot; M: Michel Legrand.