This fashion movie is, both sadly and ironically, outdated. I find that pathetic. And yet, perhaps, not as pathetic as the idea that “this documentary about my bff” came out in a theater. The director of The Virgin Suicides and Lost in Translation cheated us out of a genuine movie, instead giving us a bland and shallow overview of the life of her friend, superstar designer Marc Jacobs.
Let me state for the record here that I have a great deal of respect for Marc Jacobs. The fiftysomething fashion designer is self-made and self-assured with a strong vision of where he wants to be and seems to have hurt very few people (comparatively) along the way to a realization of a dream. Hey, good for you, man. Let me state for the record that I have a great deal of respect for Sofia Coppola. Perhaps not as much because the fiftysomething film director comes from pedigree and money, but she has earned respect as an artist. Even when I don’t like her work, I cannot deny she, too, is realizing a self-created vision of her life that also has made very few casualties along the way.
That being said … Marc by Sofia sucked. The only reason this film doesn’t rate any lower is that I don’t understand the subject well enough to destroy it thoroughly.
However, this name-dropping softball meander through the life of Marc Jacobs screams, “WHO CARES?!” as loudly as one can scream it. You know the part in The Devil Wears Prada where Anne Hathaway laughs at the belt and gets taken to task for her shallowness and naivete? This entire film is cerulean belt.
With the possible exception of Marc Jacobs having a step-father who was a dick, there isn’t a meaningful conversation, fantasy, memory, or -let’s face it- design in this entire film. It’s just 87 minutes of people like Pharrell Williams saying, “Marc’s great!” I’m so glad you think so, Pharrell (who, ironically, had a much better recent biopic). Sofia even interviewed herself for the film. Wow, that’s some qualify filmmaking, Ms. Coppola. When your career ends, I’m not gonna be thinking about what Bill Murray whispers to Scarlett Johansson at the end of Lost in Translation; I’ll definitely be thinking, “OMG! She really likes Marc Jacobs!”
What counts for plot in this endless array of drivel is that Marc is approaching the Spring
2024 show. I can’t tell you how silly it is to be revisiting dated fashion, but that is exactly what this film is. And I don’t wish to give it away … but it’s hard not to as the fashion is dated rendering anything I have to say about it meaningless. Hence, I’ll point out that while I don’t understand fashion, and didn’t know what I was going to see, the theme for said show had to be, “Cruel Things I Did to My Barbie Doll.” And even at that, I gotta say, Barbie, the film, came out in Summer of 2023; you’re kinda behind the times there, buddy.
I suppose this show was consequential for the people that made it, but that didn’t show up on film, and I cannot say I recognize any of the outfits or styles in any path I’ve wandered since 2024. Maybe I’m just a shut-in. Or maybe this film should have stayed in the can.
There once was a fashion icon named Marc
Whose career gave high fashion a spark
A friend made his biopic
So we’d all know him, quick
The depth of this analysis? So stark
Rated PG-13, 87 Minutes
Director: Sofia Coppola
Writer: Sofia Coppola, Marc Jacobs
Genre: All Marc Jacobs, all the time
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: Sofia Coppola, Marc Jacobs
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: Me
