9 July 2016

DOGWOOF PRESENTS: CRAZY ABOUT TIFFANY'S. (2016) REVIEW BY SANDRA HARRIS.




CRAZY ABOUT TIFFANY'S: A DOGWOOF DOCUMENTARY. (2016) WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY MATTHEW MIELE. FEATURING VARIOUS CELEBRITIES AND STAFF OF TIFFANY & CO. REVIEW BY SANDRA HARRIS. ©

If you like to see rich and privileged 'beautiful people' gabbing about something that only themselves and other rich privvos like them can aspire to, then this is the documentary for you. Personally, I loved it. I lapped it up like a mangy cat with a saucer of milk.

I'm being deliberately perverse, methinks, furnishing you guys with an image clearly at odds with the elegant, luxurious and glamorous picture that normally comes to mind when you think of Tiffany & Co.

 Tiffany's, of course, is the world-famous jewellers and luxury goods emporium whose flagship store operates at the corner of Fifth Avenue and 57th Street in Manhattan, New York City.

Tiffany's was established as far back as 1837, believe it or not, by an olde-timey chap by the name of Charles Lewis Tiffany. I loved the pictures of him and the bits about the history of the store in this excellent documentary, which is out on DVD on July 4th courtesy of the lovely folks at DOGWOOF, the UK's leading documentary film distributor and sales agent.

This documentary is basically a glimpse into another world entirely, a world in which most of us ordinary slobs would not be welcome unless we could afford to spring for a piece of finger-candy costing, say, a cool third of a million bucks, or maybe even more.

No normal person could afford those prices. That doesn't mean, however, that we can't have a good old nose at the people who can, and that's where CRAZY ABOUT TIFFANY'S comes in.

We have various celebrities, from Jessica Biel and Jennifer Tilly to film-maker Baz Luhrmann, talking about what Tiffany's means to them. Some of these clips are fascinating.

My favourite clip is probably the one of the amply-endowed Jennifer Tilly saying that she 'loves really big pieces' while the camera lingers unapologetically on her enormous bosoms. Yes, Mr. Director, I get the joke...!

We have, it seems, unlimited access to behind the scenes at this famous store as everyone who works there, from the jewellers themselves to the sales staff to the lady who apparently 'looks like Audrey Hepburn and now she's designing for Tiffany's!' gets to put their spoke in about what it's like to be associated with one of the world's most recognisable brands.

Let me make it quite clear here and now that I have never been the recipient of one of the famous robin's egg-blue boxes or bags from Tiffany's that get all those women on TV so excited. Charlotte from SEX AND THE CITY, Reese Witherspoon in the movie SWEET HOME ALABAMA and so on.

I was given a blue-and-white striped plastic bag once from a fellow, containing the sweet and sour chicken balls I'd sent him to the Golden Dragon to buy for me. I'm well aware that it's not the same thing so please don't bother pointing that out, haha.

Speaking of the brand's distinctive colour, there's a brilliant clip in the film of comedian Chris Rock mouthing off about those 'rich white motherf***ers who own the colour blue...!' Pithy.

I also appreciated the humour of chat-show host Conan O'Brien who commented on Tiffany's advertisement for jewellery for gay couples as follows:

  'Everyone, whether they're gay or straight, should have the right to grossly overpay for jewellery...!' Well said, that man.

The film BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S features heavily in the documentary, not unnaturally. The film was based on Truman Capote's novel and it seems as popular now as when it first came out back in 1961. It has an undeniable timeless quality, much like Tiffany's itself.

We see Audrey Hepburn, togged out in full evening dress in the early morning, alighting from a yellow cab and going to stand outside Tiffany's with takeaway coffee and croissant in hand. She's looking in the window of the store as if it's the only place in the world that matters to her at that point in time. She's completely lost in thoughts of Tiffany's. It's marvellous to witness.

She actually says the words 'I'm crazy about Tiffany's!' in another clip. She's more simply garbed in a plain white shirt and sleep mask on top of her head, kneeling in front of the fridge to get out milk for the cat. What a glorious sight, and what man wouldn't immediately want to whisk her off to Tiffany's and lavish her with the most beautiful jewels imaginable...?

Speaking of which, the jewels themselves are so fabulous they almost defy description. I do believe I came no fewer than six or seven times during the film in my excitement.

I liked the little insight into 'red carpet' psychology as well, where we learn that 'the right piece on the right celeb is the best PR.' After all, a dress can be copied, but a one-off piece from Tiffany's? You get the point, I'm sure.

Remember when Homer Simpson from THE SIMPSONS made some extra money panhandling (at least, I think it was that episode!) and he presented Marge with the signature blue box and she said: 'It's a Tiffany's box, and the thing inside is from Tiffany's...!' By the way, hands up who here thinks that Tiffany Lamps sounds like one of Krusty the Clown's porn star consorts, you know, like Charity Titters or one of those...?

The lead guy from pop band DEEP BLUE SOMETHING shows us that he's forgotten the words to his iconic worldwide hit that made him famous in the 'Nineties. I liked the window designer who loved egg shapes and used them in his window design. Hearing about the Tiffany's Blue Book, which is the equivalent of the Argos Catalogue to us povvos, was great craic too.

I was fascinated that a young woman is doing her thesis project on Tiffany's, the store in which more Presidents of the United States than you could shake a stick at have shopped for their wives or, believe it or not, for Her Madge, the Queen of England, who once received a Tiffany's make-up mirror from the Obamas. Lucky Queenie.

I adored the Judy Garland story and I didn't like the woman whose career label was actually 'philanthropist.' I thought the whole point of being one of those was that you kept it quiet and didn't brag about it, you don't put it on your bloody driving licence. Jeez Louise. Rich people...!

I'd better warn you that you will see a lot of really annoying rich people in this documentary, and also two really annoying pre-teen girls who'll presumably be fully-fledged annoying rich adults in the near future and spend their days griping about their divorces, their Botox treatments and how hard it is to get decent help these days, haha.

If you think you can stomach their over-privileged nonsense, then I recommend the hell out of this recently-released DVD. It's a jaw-dropping foray into how the other half live. It's also like holding a little piece of luxury, a little piece of Tiffany's itself, in your hands.

The DVD itself has a gorgeous cover and, for some of us, it'll be the nearest we'll ever come to peeping in the window of the most iconic jewellery store in the history of the universe. Set your faces to 'gobsmacked.' It's like a whole other world.

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY OF SANDRA HARRIS.

Sandra Harris is a Dublin-based novelist, film blogger and movie reviewer. She has studied Creative Writing and Film-Making. She has published a number of e-books on the following topics: horror film reviews, multi-genre film reviews, womens' fiction, erotic fiction, erotic horror fiction and erotic poetry. Several new books are currently in the pipeline. You can browse or buy any of Sandra's books by following the link below straight to her Amazon Author Page:

http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B015GDE5RO

 You can contact Sandra at:


http://sandrafirstruleoffilmclubharris.wordpress.com





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