Costume Critique: Annie

Howdy THEA 141 students! You have survived the first week of the semester and now it is time to let your hair down and enjoy a good movie this weekend . . . while thinking about costumes, of course!  Watch that movie from a costuming perspective and complete your first Costume Critique. Oh Joy! I know you are super excited. 

But wait, what's a costuming perspective?!  Simple--pay attention to the costumes. Do they look good? Do they help you understand the character and tell the story? Are they cohesive from scene to scene and character to character?

Follow the guidelines on Canvas as you write your first critique. Below is a little example for you--this is your blog so this is the only Costume Critique I will post on it. 

Annie

Costume Designer: Renee Ehrlich Kalfus

I was dragged to the movie theater by my 11 year old daughter. She has been counting down the days to Laie Palms opening night of Annie.  I was a kid when the original came out.  I loved that movie, sang those songs, and was not one bit excited about a remake of it.  Why mess with perfection?

To say the least I went in to the movie feeling nitpicky.  I was ready to tear it to shreds and hate every minute of it.  It took about 15 minutes to melt my cold heart and for the fresh faces, updated themes, and modernized music to sweep me away from my 1983 nostalgia.  Yep, I fell in love with Annie, again.

Too cute? Annie in the beginning.

Finally, thrift store Annie

I'm not sure if it was because I was still in my critical phase or not but the beginning of the movie didn't feel quite right to me in costuming terms. The orphans--or rather foster kids--were dressed a bit too cute.  Their clothes looked fairly fresh and new; almost right off the rack. The pink was bright and it matched the shoes. The setting was in New York City and perhaps by my current Laie, Hawaii standards (where even the rich kids dress like ragamuffins) I was setting the bar too low for these kids.  But really, in the school scenes the foster kids were dressed just as nice as the others.  I think they should have looked a bit more faded, perhaps even mismatched. You should be able to see the difference between a foster kid and the others.

There was a point right in the middle of the show though where I noticed a distinct difference in how Annie was being dressed--finally she had the faded thrift store look I had been watching for earlier. Why the change there? It was weird.  Anyways, these now more foster-friendly dud were still cute and stylish enough but now more appropriate for the characters and suddenly distinctly different from other kids. I wish it had been like this the whole way through.

This thrift store look is especially important in contrast to the new duds she gets when dressed by her new foster dad, Mr. Will Stacks: the iconic red dress.  I LOVED the red dress. I was happy that they kept it red and they made it look so classic (but totally different from the original in form) and refined, yet still little-girly. The scallops were a nice touch. I liked the peek-a-boo-pink lining at the scallops, the drape and shine of the fabric, and that it was a modest length. I was bothered in a close up shot of the straps. They didn't fit her shoulders right and needed a little taper but probably most people didn't notice that.

I could go on and on about the costumes in this show but I think I will conclude by briefly touching on the costumes of two other characters. One that I hated and one that I loved.

I hated Ms Hannigan's (Cameron Diaz) costuming and hair and makeup. I thought she looked too neatly made up--not raunchy enough. Her clothes looked too new. Her make-up looked like she was fresh from the make-up counter at Macy's and her hair was too . . . I don't know the word . . . just not right. It looked like she had let the girls do her braids (very nice braids I must add) but she was supposed to hate the girls. It just didn't fit. She didn't look poor and desperate she just acted that way.

I loved everything worn by Grace (Rose Byrne).  In fact I want her whole wardrobe. After the show I sketched a few of them and am hoping to make the pieces for myself. She looked so refined and smooth and feminine and powerful.  I wanted to be her. Especially in the scene with this blue dress. Click on the picture and look at the dress up close. It is just so darn cute and would look fabulous on me--don't you think?

Ok, so when all is said and done the movie exceeded my expectations on most accounts. I walked away feeling good about it, singing a few songs and inspired to do some sewing.