Rating: 
Summary: As Inspector Clouseau might've said, "eet ees a bheumb"
Review: You know you're in trouble when the camera pulls in for a lingering close-up of dog poop. Then we see someone step in the poop. Hardy-har-har, Bob Altman, are we supposed to split our sides laffin' at this here real sophisticated-like "comedy"? An earlier reviewer asked if anyone knew why Danny Aiello ends up in drag. Well, I'll tell you why. Altman needed someone to utterly humiliate, and poor Aiello (a wonderful actor savagely mistreated here) gets saddled with the, um, "honors." As do Forest Whitaker and Linda Hunt. In fact, trashing actors known for their sensitive portrayals in other (and better) films is the closest thing that Ready to Wear has to a plot. The degrading scene between Hunt and Stephen Rea left me feeling contaminated. If the editor Hunt portrays had been a glamorpuss type, then the bit about getting on her knees and pricking her fingers on rose thorns that Rea tosses at her might have been barely amusing. But Linda Hunt is so delicate that you feel protective of her; the physical contrast between her and the strapping Mr. Rea makes this sequence play like an excerpt from a training film for joining the Nazi party. It's disgusting. In its own repellent way, it's nearly as horrific as the dreaded coke bottle in the face nightmare from Altman's The Long Goodbye. The only performers who transcend this deeply unfunny unforgivable fiasco are Anouk Aimee and Julia Roberts. Aimee alone is treated with dignity; she brings a real poignancy to her role as a successful businesswoman who's being sold up the river. Bob does his best to desecrate Julia but she outfoxes him with her devastating smile. Although her role isn't much, she manages to keep her footing as almost everyone else gets lost in the mudslide. Or is dog poop??
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