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faithellenI just (finally) finished watching the HBO documentary "Pretty Things" on the art of burlesque. I was really looking forward to it -- seeing as how I love the vintage and the pinup art and the stuff like that there, and I was really disappointed by the filmmaker, Liz Goldwyn. For a woman so fascinated with a topic so rife with sex, so desirous of preserving the costumes and the lore and the art itself, she came off (to me) as a prudish stunned moth.
Much of the piece was interviews with former burlesque performers, with still shots and old footage, and that was GREAT -- Zorita in particular, a sharp-tongued lesbian who shot straight from the hip, was very entertaining. But running throughout was Liz's attempt to recreate a burlesque performance herself, and that involved repeatedly harping on how she didn't want to show any skin (to the point of putting on fabulous vintage costumes OVER her clothes), and standing around with her mouth hanging limp and her eyes with no light behind them. She recorded three songs, which screamed "this is SEXY! right? isn't it? guys?" And...the dancing. She appears to be a long-time ballet dancer. You could see the training, but it came across as awkward and a technical exercise in being sexy. She didn't have the OOMPH, the heart, the hottt.
Anyone else see this? What are your thoughts? Is it just that I'm looking at a skinny woman with little breasts, and discarding her burlesque potential out of hand?
EDIT: According to this interview, she was 18 when she filmed this. I cut her more slack for that -- I was thinking late 20s.
Much of the piece was interviews with former burlesque performers, with still shots and old footage, and that was GREAT -- Zorita in particular, a sharp-tongued lesbian who shot straight from the hip, was very entertaining. But running throughout was Liz's attempt to recreate a burlesque performance herself, and that involved repeatedly harping on how she didn't want to show any skin (to the point of putting on fabulous vintage costumes OVER her clothes), and standing around with her mouth hanging limp and her eyes with no light behind them. She recorded three songs, which screamed "this is SEXY! right? isn't it? guys?" And...the dancing. She appears to be a long-time ballet dancer. You could see the training, but it came across as awkward and a technical exercise in being sexy. She didn't have the OOMPH, the heart, the hottt.
Anyone else see this? What are your thoughts? Is it just that I'm looking at a skinny woman with little breasts, and discarding her burlesque potential out of hand?
EDIT: According to this interview, she was 18 when she filmed this. I cut her more slack for that -- I was thinking late 20s.
