Vonia Model Shop (1969) Director: Jacques Demy Watched: May 2018 Rating: 5/10 An "A" for effort, Proves Demy should stick with French, Not co-writing this. George refuses work, Loves a girl he hardly knows, Fears the draft and death? Abysmal acting, Especially Hays who has No language excuse! Aimée plays "Lola", With far less dazzle this time, Though still beautiful. Props for nostalgic L.A., "Spirit" band, life insight quotes. #HaikuSonnet #PoemReview #French ---- Haiku Sonnets are comprised of 4 3-line haiku plus a couplet of either 5 or 7 syllables, totaling 14 lines, the same number of lines found in a sonnet. (5-7-5, 5-7-5, 5-7-5, 5-7-5, 7-7/5-5) The perfect pairing of Asian and Western poetry?

Antonius Block In a word, ugh. Don't waste your time with this film. It has a low-budget, indie feel to it, which could have been a big positive, but the acting is shockingly bad. Gary Lockwood is wooden and Alexandra Hay is awful, and on top of that, the script is sleepy and uninspired. The soundtrack and brief appearance from the band Spirit is as well. There is a moment at which Lockwood gets a draft notice that feels real and of interest, bringing back a difficult period in America, but it's quickly snuffed by the lethargy of Lockwood's attraction to a model (Anouk Aimée) who can be paid to pose for risqué photos. It's quite tedious to see Lockwood slowly tooling around in his convertible in scene after scene, though it is of some interest to see street scenes in 1960's Los Angeles, and that's the best thing the film has going for it. Otherwise, director Jacques Demy even finds a way to make scenes with two beautiful stars, Aimée and Lockwood, boring. Whew.

tentender I note the many laudatory reviews here and the general tone of those on amazon is similar. I'm sorry, but don't make me laugh! This is a stinker from the word go, that is unless you want to overlook the two most basic elements of film story-telling, to wit: (1) a coherent and preferably imaginatively dialogued script and (2) competent acting. As a follow-up to the brilliant "Lola" and the virtually undisputed masterpiece "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg" -- in the sense that all three films have characters in common -- this is shocking. I think perhaps it will suffice to say that Jacques Demy (who is not only director but co-writer) was not quite comfortable with the English language at the time he made this, his only American film. The same can obviously said of Anouk Aimee, giving a perfectly ludicrous performance (the "model shop" scene, especially, where she gets into supposedly alluring poses for her client's camera must be seen to be believed). Alexandra Hay, however, has no such excuse. She is simply dreadful. As George Cukor unflinchingly said of co-star Aimee, "The lady simply can't act." But I have given this film two stars, and there are two reasons. One: co-star Gary Lockwood (really the top star, though second billed; there is not a frame of the film in which he does not appear), though not a very skilled actor, tries his best, and watching his stuff flop around in his tight jeans (no underwear, as is made clear when he puts his pants on in the first scene) is at least something to concentrate on. He also has a very, very cute butt and looks damn good with his shirt off as well (two scenes). If that is enough for you, then you may enjoy this film. The other reason is that an excellent late 60's rock band, Spirit, not only wrote the soundtrack (supplemented by a number of Classical selections), but appear in the film in one brief scene. They can't act, either, but it's a nice documentary moment, catching them just as they were making their mark. It's rather endearing. My final complaint: Sony's insulting packaging -- super ugly, too.

whpratt1 Enjoyed this film from the very beginning to the end and the wonderful photographs of Los Angele, California. George Matthews, (Gary Lockwood) sets his eyes on a beautiful woman named Lola, (Anouk Aim) who is a model in a strange shop. George is having a hard time trying to find himself in Los Angeles, and he does not work, but has plenty of friends who loan him money and at the same time he is living with a gal who is getting tired of George being so lazy in life. There is also a finance company trying to reposes his BMW and things are getting pretty rough for George. You will definitely not be able to figure out how this film is going to end.