Note: This review of Funny Face contains spoilers. I wanted to dig into the movie a little in order to discuss its good points and flaws. The only way I could do that was to give away the plot. If you don’t want to spoil the movie, please watch it first. Then come back and let me know if you agree with my assessment of it.
Also, I completed this post prior to Election Day. No matter how my readers feel about the election on the day this goes live, I’m certain there will be plenty of bad news that we need to escape from. It’s 2020, after all.
The first time I watched the movie Funny Face, I fell in love with the look of it — the costumes, the sets, the imagery. It turns out that part of its look comes from contributions by photographer Richard Avedon. His photos are most notably featured in the opening title sequence, but they also appear in the brilliant number “Think Pink” and in a fashion shoot segment later in the film.
On the surface, Funny Face is all about fashion and romance. Kay Thompson (yes, the author of Eloise) plays fashion magazine editor Diana Vreeland Maggie Prescott, who is looking for a different sort of model to represent Quality magazine. Fred Astaire is fashion photographer Richard Avedon Dick Avery, who finds the next “Quality woman”: Jo Stockton (Audrey Hepburn).
Avery faces two obstacles: (1) Prescott thinks Stockton has a “funny” face (Stockton thinks so, too). (2) Stockton, who is studying a form of philosophy called “empathicalism,” has no interest in modeling.
But Avery prevails — in part because the modeling shoot will be in Paris, where Stockton can meet Professor Flostre, father of empathicalism. And on the shoot, romance blossoms between Stockton and Avery. The question is: Will it last? In a fit of jealousy, Avery, who had sold Prescott on Stockton’s “character, spirit, and intelligence,” tells Stockton that Flostre is “about as interested in your intellect as I am.” Ouch.
The fashion is delicious, but the romance bothers a lot of people for good reason. The 30-year age gap between Astaire and Hepburn is off-putting (never mind that plenty of prominent men these days still marry women who are young enough to be their daughters). More important is that low blow Avery delivers during his argument with Stockton. At the time she tells him, “We’re very fortunate to have found out these things now.” Their differences are glossed over by the end of the film, which is too bad.
So while the movie is beautiful to look at, with such a problematic romance, why am I recommending it? Well, there’s another element that I love about this film: it’s almost feminist in its depiction of women. Stockton and Prescott are both strong female characters — intelligent and ambitious. Prescott dictates fashion but is never a slave to it. After she has declared pink to be the “it” color, someone asks her when she will start wearing pink. She replies that she wouldn’t be caught dead in it. As for Stockton, she’s a thinker who stands up for herself.
And though Funny Face is definitely a comedy, it also touches on a very real problem for women: sexual harassment. When Avery insulted Stockton with his assessment of Flostre’s interest in her, he was right. She wants to talk philosophy, but Flostre replies, “We’ll talk. Later. … I need you now.” She has to defend herself in order to get away.
Funny Face has its flaws, but it also gives us strong women dealing with issues that too many women still have to deal with more than 60 years later. More importantly (in my mind), it’s a fun, gorgeous escape — perfect for the days when you can’t take one more piece of bad news.