Grey Gardens
The movie begins with a series of newspaper headlines that describe how the Beales' mansion was raided by the local Health Board. In one write-up, "Little" Edie relays her mother's feelings about the raid, "It was the most disgusting, atrocious thing to happen in America."
The normally reclusive Beales are genuinely excited at being the subject of the camera, both having been failed entertainers. Often, it seems as if they embrace the opportunity to communicate their whole lives in their brief encounter with the camera. One of the best things about the movie are the quotes, particularly from Little Edie: " 'Course, I'm mad about animals, but raccoons and cats become a little bit boring. I mean, for too long a time." My favorite might be near the beginning, when Little Edie describes her outfit:
This is the best thing to wear for today, you understand. Because I don't like women in skirts and the best thing is to wear pantyhose or some pants under a short skirt, I think. Then you have the pants under the skirt and then you can pull the stockings up over the pants underneath the skirt. And you can always take off the skirt and use it as a cape. So I think this is the best costume for today.
Another great thing to watch are Little Edie's "costumes". In particular, she always wears some sort of shawl on her head, sometimes its a scarf, sometimes it's a towel, or even a sweater, with the sleeves hanging down her back. It's never made clear whether she does this because she doesn't have hair.
The movie is a surprisingly intimate portrait of the relationship between an aging mother and her lunatic daughter. I recommend it to anyone looking for something a little off the wall, or to anyone with a unique sense of fashion.
Apparently, it is a cult classic, with many fan pages and dedications to Little Edie.
The DVD has some interviews with fashion designers who talk about how the movie and Little Edie's "costumes" inspired them. There's also a phone interview with Little Edie from around 2001, where she talks about Al Gore and Republicans.
Anyway, my wife and I decided to try a headdress like Edie. So here's our photographic homage to Little Edie Bouvier Beale.
That is way too silly :) You guys are too cute, dressing up like little old psycho ladies....
I think you could break into modeling.