Federico Fellini's 1986 opus reunites him w/his famous collaborators, Marcello Mastroianni & Giulietta Masina (his wife in real life), for this not too veiled attack on television & the inherent circus like atmosphere (something of a running theme Fellini explored throughout his career) surrounding a huge television special. As the participants flock for a big Christmas time show, we focus on Masina, the Ginger of a Ginger Rogers & Fred Astaire tribute duo (they aped the famous couple's dance routine back in the day) as she's shuffled from a train station to a shabby hotel as the players await this huge event. Making friends here & there she's actually on the lookout for her Fred, Mastroianni, which is up in the air as a day goes by & he appears to be a no show. Once he arrives, we see time hasn't been kind to the aging duo w/Mastroianni going bald & after a brief rehearsal, getting completely winded. Masina doesn't fare much better when the night of the show, while sitting in the make-up chair, she briefly gets cold feet but as the couple accept their fate, the show goes on. Delighting on the fringe aspects of celebrity as the cornucopia of performers strut their stuff in various forms of gauche & outlandish costumes (designed by Fellini regular Danilo Donati), the film doesn't necessarily lampoon their status but in a strange way celebrates it even though aspects like outrageous TV ads which play in the background are almost stomach churning in their presentation. Seeing Fellini gather his troupes for one last fling is a thing to behold & even though a better presentation would've been more appreciated (there is so much dialogue floating around & not all of it gets translated), the master strutting his stuff is heartwarming.
Review of Ginger & Fred
