Totally Blonde and High Society
A Comparison of Andrew Van Slee, Charles Walters and the Musical
Andrew Van Slee’s Totally Blonde (2003), starring Krista Allen and Michael Bublé is mostly perceived as a fluffy, nonsensical Bublé vehicle disguised as a film about a woman in search of the perfect man. Although this point is arguable, considering Van Slee wrote the movie in order to showcase the then undiscovered extraordinary talent of Bublé, upon closer inspection there are astounding similarities between this and some of the classic musicals of the Rat Pack era, specifically Charles Walter’s High Society (1956). Through the screenplay, direction and composition of the original score for Totally Blonde, Andrew Van Slee succeeds in forging a connection between the lighter, sexier comedies of modern time and the sophisticated, debonair musicals of the past.
Van Slee's Homage to the Musicals of the Golden Age
The movie’s outset, which begins with a catchy overture-esque quality, attempts to recapture the carefree nightlife living that embodied the late 50’s and whole of the 60’s while also establishing a character base for the protagonist, Krista Allen’s Meg Peters. Shortly thereafter, Meg is unceremoniously dumped by her mono-syllabic, Neanderthal of a boyfriend, causing her to enter into a mini-crisis that results in a brunette to blonde color change, complete with wardrobe and cosmetic overhaul. Naturally, this marks the entrance of the smooth, charming crooner, Michael Bublé’s affable Van Martin.
As the film progresses the storyline becomes relatively forgettable as Meg awkwardly balances the fine line between friendship and dating, punctuated every now and again with a swoon-worthy vocal performance by Bublé. However, there are moments when the actions on screen transcend the otherwise mortifyingly mind-numbing dialogue and enter a realm that bespeaks of a golden age where Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra and Grace Kelly held their audience captive by sheer eloquence and magnitude. Scenes such as a drunken game of ‘truth or dare,’ which escalates to a moonlight swim between Van and Meg’s best friend, Liv, the typical female foil to the heroine, and the build-up to a “will they or won’t they” marriage are hallmarks of the trade.
Van Slee Succeeds in Originality
The central contrast of the two films is highlighted in their endings. True, it was a different age of Hollywood in 1965, High Society boasted a supporting cast of equal expertise to the main players, something that an independent film rarely gets to experience, and Crosby, Sinatra and Kelly (not to mention a little help from Mr. Louis Armstrong) were already firmly established powerhouse stars in their own right; but if a movie is good, it resonates with the viewer long after the tunes have faded and the credits have scrolled by. Unfortunately, Totally Blonde does not achieve this particular accolade.
Aside from predictable, the ending is nearly implausible and leaves a somewhat queasy feeling in one of its final camera shots; nevertheless, it is criminal to write it off completely. Van Slee, while helping to launch the career of an astonishing artist who harkens back to the feel good days of wine and roses, manages to enact the quadruple feat of writing, producing, scoring and acting (he makes a blink and you’ll miss it cameo about three-quarters of the way through), earning him esteem in the highest degree.
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