Fashion Victim: The Killing of Gianni Versace

"Fashion designers aren't supposed to die. In fact, it's probably the safest job in the world. They don't die in airplane crashes, they don't die in car crashes, they don't choke while eating a piece of steak." This profundity(from the editor of French Vogue) makes you wonder what the filmmakers chose not to include in this slapdash "documentary" that plays more like a poorly edited E! Hollywood True Story. It tells you very little about Versace (he was rich, he was nice, he liked beautiful people, he will be missed) and even less about his murderer, Cunanan (he was a "boytoy" whose dark side emerged when he gained weight). His father is convinced Cunanan was not gay but rather "enacted the role of a homosexual for his superiors"--whatever that means. Or even that he was murdered. He blames "organized crime." Cunanan's stepmother, "Boots" Cunanan, hauls out a phone and says, "this is the phone that Andrew called me on." She beams. The tragic, and sensational, true story has potential: sex, celebrity, fame, wealth, ambition, high style, low lives. Fashion Victim squanders all that, and wastes a pretty good title, too.

Interesting documentary on the events leading up to Versace's untimely death by Andrew Cunnanan. I say interesting because some of the interview subjects chosen for this documentary are downright laughable. While I do commend the filmmakers for interviewing Versace's lover for many years, all of that is taken back by the sheer fact that Malcolm McClaren is in it, as he's billed as a 'fashion guru!' I mean, give me a friggin break! When did THAT happen? And what exactly is a fashion guru anyways? And that half crazy woman who supposedly "discovered' Versace in Italy? I'm sorry, but did she seem like a total hanger on to you? "Look! His last photograph!!" "Look! His famous red coat!!" But the one that takes the cake is Andew Cunnanan's dad, and his hilarious logic into his son. He claims in this movie that Andrew was "probably not gay" and the murder was done by "organized crime" are just downright hilarious! (I mean, I started laughing every time he came on the screen) (Good luck trying to sell his life story). I'm sure there's a better biography on Versace and his killer out there, this just isn't it.