Hey, everyone. Capone in Chicago here.
With all of the big announcements coming out of ComicCon over the next few days, I wanted to try and squeeze in at least one review before the site gets too cluttered. The documentary AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL is just starting to make the festival rounds (it was recently accepted to play as part of October's Chicago International Film Festival), and it's equal parts fascinating, disturbing, and absolutely critical viewing for those of you who have ever looked at a woman and said, "Man, is she hot!"
When director Daryl Roberts first contacted me to let me know his film was screening in Chicago, he told me his film was about America's unhealthy obsession with beauty, but that's not entirely true. Roberts' investigation focuses on the world's sometimes terrifying obsession with a certain body image. What I found more fascinating is the director's often unpredictable means of making his point. Early in the film, he introduces us to one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen. She's tall and leggy (I'd guess she's near or at six-feet tall, with flawless features, a runway strut that will make your head spin, subtle curves in all the right places, and a devastating smile. It is only after all the straight men and gay women in the audience have fallen in love with supermodel-in-the-making Gerren Taylor that Roberts reveals that she's all of 12 years old. Creep…Vibe…Setting…In--So…Very…Awkward.
Roberts approach to his overall subject is sometimes a bit all over the place, and I'm not sure he offers up any concrete suggestions about how to change or eliminate beauty standards. He spends the necessary time discussing Dove's ad campaign featuring "real women" and their real curves, which some viewed as Madison Avenue's acceptance that body types in America are changing. He also has terrific access to modeling agencies and advertising firms who openly and honestly discuss their part in shaping the way women of all ages view themselves and others. I also got a kick out of his interviews with a group of guys (I don't remember if he really said who these average Joes really were) who discuss their insistence that the women they date be extremely good looking, somewhat subservient, and offer up now opinions that these guys are actually expected to respect.
But Roberts always brings us back to Gerren Taylor and her typical stage mom (a former amateur model herself not so long ago). For a brief shining moment, Gerren is the hottest runway model during fashion week in New York, but then the media got a hold of her true age and the story began to change. The filmmaker could have made an entire film just about Gerren and her mother, who may have had something to do with modeling agencies and designers in other cities wanting nothing to do with Gerren. Her education, and, more importantly, her self-worth suffer tremendously, and Roberts captures more than one meltdown, which truly made me fear for this girl's future and psychological well being. When someone as tall and thin as Gerren starts thinking she's fat and ugly, do we need any other proof that the world is a fucked up place when it comes to judging young girls? Gerren's story is the emotional center of this film, and its inclusion here is worth the price of admission.
Perhaps AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL's only flaw is that Roberts cast himself in the role of narrator and occasionally puts himself on camera to prove his point about looks. He may be too nice a guy to get us truly riled up about his subject matter. That being said, one of the film's best segments is when Roberts places a personal ad on a web site that caters to beautiful people, where other people with acceptable profiles on the site judge and vote on newcomers. Roberts is voted off the site, and his reaction is priceless. The film also features a few nice interviews with more than a few famous faces, including some tasty insight from Eve Ensler, a bit of fluff from Paris Hilton, and some expectedly Zen words on beauty from Anthony Kiedis of the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Roberts is relentless in his discussions on eating disorders, "extreme makeovers," and airbrushed photos, but something about his delivery lacks the outrage that seems necessary to make his points stick. This doesn't mean that you'll leave AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL unaffected. I walked out of my screening more than a little ashamed at comments I've made on this very site about the way certain actresses look. Does that mean I won't do so in the future? Probably not. But sometimes, simply reconsidering your actions is all a film like this can expect of its audience. Roberts has made the best film on this subject I've seen to date, and while it's not perfect, it is a work that speaks to the heart of a foolishness that this country needs to stop or change as soon as possible.
Capone
