We may have been given complimentary copies and/or access for review purposes to any books, products, and/or any other visual or audio media mentioned below. Any and all opinions expressed here are our own.
Books: Banton of Paramount: Haute Couture in Hollywood's Golden Age & Rewrite the Stars
Today, we recommend Banton of Paramount: Haute Couture in Hollywood's Golden Age. This book provides a comprehensive look at the career of fashion and costume designer Travis Banton. Banton was a clothing designer from the 1910s through the 1950s. He was particularly renowned for his stage and screen designs and was, at one time, the head of costuming at Paramount Studios.
The book presents an overview of his work, mostly in films, but also some of his stagework, with many prominent actresses, including Clara Bow, Claudette Colbert, and Rosalind Russell. There are whole chapters devoted to his work with Marlene Dietrich, Carole Lombard, and Mae West alone.
Information provided on films he worked on includes discussions of character, what the costumes in a particular film were meant to show, and specific costume descriptions. An overview of his working relationship with many of the actresses he worked with is also provided. Plus, there are numerous pictures and sketches of Banton's work throughout the book. Anyone interested in fashion and/or Hollywood history will really enjoy this book.
Today, we recommend Rewrite the Stars by Lindsay Hameroff. Actress Marissa Morgan's career has been on the back burner since the birth of her kids, whereas her ex-husband's career as a highly sought-after director is skyrocketing. When his high-profile engagement becomes front-page news, she escapes the onslaught by taking her children to the lake house she inherited from her grandmother. There she quickly hires a renovation company to make much-needed updates and repairs, and she soon finds herself deeply attracted to the oddly familiar foreman, Jesse.
This is a very enjoyable book. Marissa and Jesse are both extremely likable, good-hearted characters, and their romance is so sweet. The obstacles thrown in the way of their romance seem plausible and not contrived.
The secondary characters and relationships are great too, and both the family and found-family vibes are outstanding. Jesse's brother, Toby, is a big, lovable lug who clearly cares deeply about him, as does Toby's wife, Shelby. She can be a bit overbearing at times, but her heart is in the right place. Although at first, she is extremely starstruck meeting Marissa, she quickly grows to love her for who she is and what she means to Jesse. Toby and Shelby are very cute together as well, albeit a little sickening too, as they would be the couple who would always be likely to be engaging in too much PDA.
Pooja Marissa's best friend since childhood is also a great character. She is the perfect friend. She is just the right mix of supportive and pushy.
The only unlikable character is Marissa's ex-husband. He is a spoiled manpulative selfish jerk. However, by the end of the book, even he has softened a little.
The book provides an excellent representation of autism and what it's like to be a parent to an autistic child, as Marissa's son, Levi, is autistic. This is very important to the book's author, who also has an autistic child. In this sense, Marissa is like a stand-in for her, as she is a very good mother who has learned to navigate the joys and challenges of raising a child with autism as best she can. This doesn't mean that unexpected difficulties don't occur, but when they do, she is better prepared to handle them than her ex-husband, who has little regard for Levi and his needs. In fact, he is not a good parent at all because he is only really there for the fun stuff and not really interested in participating in the everyday realities of raising either of his children.
All in all, whether you're in it for the romance, the family vibes, or the autism representation, or some combination thereof, this book is a very satisfying read.
Movie: Love on Tap
Today, we are discussing Love on Tap. This is a romantic comedy about a woman on the verge of losing the brewery she inherited and the big city marketing guy who comes to help her. However, the story is cliched, the leads have no chemistry, and the male lead does something so terrible that it is impossible to like him, no matter what he does after, even though the female lead is clearly willing to take him back. Accordingly, the film's ending is unsatisfying. It is also cliched and somewhat implausible. Thus, the whole movie is just a disappointment.
Banton of Paramount: Haute Couture in Hollywood's Golden Age was published in May. Rewrite the Stars was published today. Love on Tap will be available digitally for purchase or rental starting next Tuesday, July 14.
Tune in tomorrow for Where-To-Go Wednesday.
All Images used in this post, except the Rewrite the Stars image, which is our own, were sent by publicists, artists, and/or PR firms and are used by permission. Any Concerns regarding image usage can be addressed here.
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