Marmalade
Modeling industry continues to baffle moviemakers in latest in a string of pics that tries to come to grips with a biz that should be a cinema natural yet stumbles badly on the runway. Jennifer Kusner and Jill Sorenson opt for a pathetic account of a model who finds herself too old at age 29. Best fit appears to be women's-oriented cablers.
The modeling industry continues to baffle moviemakers in “Marmalade,” the latest in a string of pics that tries to come to grips with a biz that should be a cinema natural yet stumbles badly on the runway. Basing their script on first-hand experience, co-writers Jennifer Kusner and Jill Sorenson (who also stars and serves as a producer) opt for a rather pathetic account of a once-top model who finds herself deemed too old at age 29 and doesn’t know what to do next. Beyond a smattering of fest appearances, the best fit appears to be women’s-oriented cablers.
Kim (Sorenson) would seem to non-pro eyes to still be a vivacious blonde hottie, but nose-in-the-air photographers, directors and agents tell her she looks “tired.” On the home front, she finds her longtime b.f. Peter (Michael T. Weiss) bored, non-committal and unwilling to move from their Gotham pad to the Connecticut ‘burbs in order to make babies, prompting her to break up with him.
Poor rich gal Kim now finds herself begging for rudimentary jobs far below what she’s accustomed to, with no amour and two pals (Kusner’s Jessica and Michael Cavadias’ gay Antoine) who egg her to go out on one bad date after another. Eric Schaefer (typically overactive) appears as Jessica’s sexually hampered b.f., and in style and tone, “Marmalade” closely resembles one of Schaefer’s own comedies, though never as annoying — even when Kim has sympathetic conversations in an animal shelter she dubs Marmalade.
The only note of believability is in a series of black-and-white vid clips from the docu Jessica is making about the downside of modeling (featuring actual vet models, plus the ubiquitous Donald Trump).
Though reasonably likable, Sorenson is limited in emotional range, especially when Kim is feeling her once-familiar world shifting under her feet. Weiss has nowhere to go in a role that’s a stiff onscreen; Kusner registers best of all as a woman with more than one side.
Helmer Kim Dempster’s credits as a commercials director are a hindrance, with shots and scenes looking too glossy and staged by half. Pic, shot in 35mm, was badly showcased at Cinevegas in a sub-par, pixilated Beta vid version.
Marmalade
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