Tagged: Florida
The Irishman: Tony Pro’s Controversial Shirt and Shorts in Florida
Stephen Graham as “Tony Pro” in The Irishman (2019)
Vitals
Stephen Graham as Anthony “Tony Pro” Provenzano, brash New Jersey mobster
Miami, Summer 1972
Film: The Irishman
Release Date: November 1, 2019
Director: Martin Scorsese
Costume Design: Sandy Powell & Christopher Peterson
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
“Next time you come in, you come heavy or not at all.”
“Meeting in the middle of the desert always made me nervous. It’s a scary place. I knew about the holes in the desert, of course, and everywhere I looked, there could have been a hole.”
“Don’t ever take sides with anyone against the family again.”
The annals of mob fiction are laden with rules and etiquette surrounding meetings in the world of La Cosa Nostra, and Martin Scorsese’s latest continues that grand tradition in The Irishman when hotheaded capo Anthony “Tony Pro” Provenzano (Stephen Graham) meets with famously outspoken labor official Jimmy Hoffa (Al Pacino) in Florida. Continue reading
Humphrey Bogart in Key Largo
Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall on the set of Key Largo (1948)
Vitals
Humphrey Bogart as Frank McCloud, taciturn war veteran and former newspaperman
Key Largo, Florida, Summer 1948
Film: Key Largo
Release Date: July 16, 1948
Director: John Huston
Wardrobe Credit: Leah Rhodes
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Released today in 1948, John Huston’s moody noir Key Largo marked the fourth and final of Bogie and Bacall’s on-screen collaborations, closing out their celluloid romance the way it began in To Have and Have Not (1944) with a talent-packed cast (including Dan Seymour as a heavy heavy) in a tropical locale shrouded in shadows, storms, and gunplay. The claustrophobia of our characters’ forced isolation against the looming summer storm outside and the raging tension inside made it particularly impactful viewing during months in lockdown.
The Office: Florida Stanley
Leslie David Baker as Stanley Hudson on The Office (Episode 8.15: “Tallahassee”)
Vitals
Leslie David Baker as Stanley Hudson, bored paper company salesman
Tallahassee, Florida, Late February 2012
Series: The Office
Episode: “Tallahassee” (Episode 8.15)
Air Date: February 16, 2012
Director: Matt Sohn
Creator: Greg Daniels
Costume Designer: Alysia Raycraft
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Thanks to a “Celebrate Every Day” calendar I received from my girlfriend marking quirky observances throughout the year, I’m privileged to know that April 26 is celebrated as National Pretzel Day. And, of course, hearing the words “pretzel day” should remind most people of one man in particular:
While there’s little that’s significant or interesting about how Stanley Hudson dresses for day after excruciating day racking up sales (or, more often, crossword puzzle victories), we see a whole different side of the banal salesman when he successfully campaigns to join a select team from his office for an extended business trip to Florida. Continue reading
Cool Hand Luke
Paul Newman in Cool Hand Luke (1967)
Vitals
Paul Newman as Lucas “Luke” Jackson, chain gang inmate, war veteran, and “natural-born world-shaker”
Florida Road Prison 36, summer, early 1950s
Film: Cool Hand Luke
Release Date: November 1, 1967
Director: Stuart Rosenberg
Costume Designer: Howard Shoup
Background
What we’ve got here is… failure to communicate. Some men you just can’t reach.
The iconic “failure to communicate” line in Cool Hand Luke is first uttered by Strother Martin as the stern, insensitive captain in charge of Road Prison 36 where most of the film is set. Lucas “Luke” Jackson (Paul Newman), recently sentenced to the facility after a drunken night of vandalizing parking meters, is proud to be one of the men that the captain can’t reach.
Just in time for the stifling midsummer heat, I’m focusing on Cool Hand Luke, voted one of the sweatiest movies of all time by the patrons of Cheers… in addition to various other accolades.
Out of Time – Denzel Washington’s Aloha Shirt
Denzel Washington as Banyan Key police chief Matt Whitlock in Out of Time (2003)
Vitals
Denzel Washington as Mathias Lee “Matt” Whitlock, Banyan Key police chief
Banyan Key, Florida, Summer 2002
Film: Out of Time
Release Date: October 3, 2003
Director: Carl Franklin
Costume Designer: Sharen Davis
Background
If you’re lucky enough to count a well-made Aloha shirt or two in your closet, summer is the time to bring them to the front of your rotation. After all, boldly printed shirts dominated at Milan Fashion Week this month, and I have a feeling we’ll be seeing a few more Hawaiian shirts on gents of all generations this summer.
While Hawaiian shirts in movies and TV are often played for comedic purposes, the tropical neo-noir Out of Time unironically – and successfully – dresses its protagonist in a setting-appropriate printed Aloha shirt for the lion’s share of the film’s action.
White Christmas: Bing’s Powder Blue Jacket
Bing Crosby as Bob Wallace in White Christmas (1954)
Vitals
Bing Crosby as Bob Wallace, Broadway crooner, World War II veteran, and “a lonely and miserable man”
Florida, December 1954
Film: White Christmas
Release Date: October 14, 1954
Director: Michael Curtiz
Costume Designer: Edith Head
Background
Happy holidays! This Christmas Eve felt like an appropriate time to focus on White Christmas, the most successful film of 1954 and one of the most beloved holiday classics. Continue reading
Dexter’s Kill Outfit
Michael C. Hall as Dexter Morgan in “Waiting to Exhale”, episode 2.02 of Dexter.
Vitals
Michael C. Hall as Dexter Morgan, Miami Metro Police forensic analyst and serial killer
Miami, Fall 2006
Series: Dexter
Creator: James Manos, Jr.
Costume Design Team: Marina Draghici (pilot), Jill M. Ohanneson (season 1), Abram Waterhouse (seasons 2-4), James Lapidus (season 5), Kathleen Felix-Hager (seasons 6-8)
Background
Although the network had been running original programming since the early 1980s, Showtime’s status as an original TV network was catapulted by the debut of Dexter in 2006. The show began as a loose adaptation of Jeff Lindsay’s novels about Dexter Morgan, a vigilante serial killer who only targets other killers. Dexter’s abilities as a killer are assisted by his position as a forensic blood spatter analyst for the [fictional] Miami-Metro Police Department where his now-deceased father Harry had been a legendary detective (though not without his own demons) and his half-sister is currently trying to live up to Harry’s reputation.
At a young age, Dexter’s urge to kill had been recognized by foster father-but-actually-biological-father-also Harry. Rather than allow Dexter to follow the likes of Ted Bundy and Richard Ramirez, Harry developed a code for Dexter to follow where he must only kill people who are undoubtedly murderers themselves and ensure his own personal safety by disposing of the evidence. Typically, Dexter was able to stay under the radar by only killing murderers who were untouched by the law, but his investigations began to overlap with the Miami-Metro PD’s investigations as the series continued. Continue reading
George Jung’s White Leisure Suit in Blow
Johnny Depp as George Jung in Blow (2001), from New Line Cinema.
Vitals
Johnny Depp as George Jung, international cocaine dealer
Miami to Colombia, Summer 1977
Film: Blow
Release Date: April 6, 2001
Director: Ted Demme
Costume Designer: Mark Bridges
Background
Pablo Escobar: So, you’re the man, huh? Who takes fifty kilos and make them disappear in one day.
George Jung: Actually, it was three days.
As a multimillion dollar-earning international drug dealer, George Jung was well-known to drug culture and law enforcement by the time Bruce Porter’s 1993 book, Blow, was released. However, it was the Ted Demme-directed 2001 film of the same name that brought Jung’s life into the mainstream with Johnny Depp in the lead role. Continue reading
Dexter’s Dark Blue Linen Shirt in “See-Through”
Michael C. Hall as Dexter Morgan on Dexter, episode 2.04, “See-Through”.
Vitals
Michael C. Hall as Dexter Morgan, Miami Metro Police forensic analyst and serial killer
Miami, March 2007
Background
When he wasn’t sporting his trademark brown henley and cargo pants for a kill, Dexter Morgan dressed very fashionably and practically for his tropical surroundings. The second season of Dexter, lauded by fans as one of the best, finds Dexter confronted by his gruesome habits and branded the “Bay Harbor Butcher”. Since Dexter had killed more than fifty victims by the time the season started, any police department would be way over their heads with such a discovery, let alone the totally incompetent Miami Metro Police Department of the series. The MMPD calls in the FBI, notably eccentric super agent Frank Lundy.
By the fourth episode, “See-Through”, Lundy and his task force – which now includes Dexter’s sister Debra – are ramping up their case against the Butcher. Continue reading
Rusty Ryan’s trip to Florida
As the weather continues to cool down, some people may choose to head south for their holiday celebrations. If this applies to you, take an example from Brad Pitt’s Florida suit in the Ocean’s Eleven remake. Happy 49th birthday, Mr. Pitt.
Brad Pitt as “Rusty” Ryan in Ocean’s Eleven (2001).
Vitals
Brad Pitt as Robert “Rusty” Ryan, hustler and casino heister
St. Petersburg, FL, Spring 2001
Film: Ocean’s Eleven
Release Date: December 7, 2001
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Costume Designer: Jeffrey Kurland
Background
Disclaimer: Reading the tips on this article will not make you look like Brad Pitt, nor will women treat you like you are Brad Pitt. However, it may give you a few steps in the right direction when emulating the great style that defined Ocean’s Eleven. Continue reading