About Face: Supermodels Then and Now

About Face is raucous and lovely. [3 Aug 2012, p.69]

HBO tackles some familiar territory--beauty and the perils of aging, crowsfeet to sagging cheeks--but treats the subject from several new angles thanks to the candor of the older, wiser, still stunning former models.

Fewer models with more time to talk about themselves and much less about the "fabulous people in the industry" that treated them like goddesses would have made this documentary as good as it is glamorous.

Nobody here offers shattering insights into the meaning of life or even of modeling. They're just among a large group of attractive women telling stories to the camera.

The meandering approach does manage to excavate some fascinating tales and memories.

Instead of going in-depth with a few models, there's a carousel of names and familiar faces each awarded only a few soundbites, taken up mostly with biography, before the camera moves on.

There are interesting tidbits about the history of fashion photography--the racism, the drugs--but not much serious discussion about the cultural consequences of the evolution of the business.