The Arms Race

The other night I was watching 'What's Love Got to Do with It' (the Tina Turner story), because as far as I'm concerned the next best thing to a dance film is a biopic.

I love a biopic and I particularly like ones in which famous people play other famous people; don't ask me why but it's gratifying and amusing in equal parts. The exception to this rule is Drew Barrymore in Grey Gardens, whose portrayal of Little Edie was extraordinary, to the extent that at the very start of the film I thought they'd spliced in footage from the original documentary.

However some of my favourite biopics include 'The Scarlet O'Hara War' (Tony Curtis playing David O Selznick and Sharon Gless playing Carole Lombard), the legendary 'Mommie Dearest' (Faye Dunaway playing Joan Crawford) and perhaps my favourite 'Dynasty: The Making of a Guilty Pleasure'. A biopic about Dynasty? Genius!

I'm sure some of you probably think I'm making that last one up, but I can assure it's real; check it out:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUVvLPEQcas


I'm also partial to American biopics/mini-series about our Royal Family, hours of fun watching them get all the royal protocol horrendously wrong.

Anyway, I digress, back to the Tina Turner story. I have seen this film before, but I'd completely forgotten about Angela Bassett's arms.

Whoa Nelly!

It seems a bit unfair that Madonna always seems to get the blame for being the originator of female  trucker arms. 'What's Love Got to Do with It' was made in 1993, when her Madgesty looked a bit like this on 'The Girlie Show'; which was her tour for that year.

Toned I'll grant you, but I think Miss.Basset would probably win in an arm wrestling situation.

However we know Madonna is never one to be outdone, so fast forward 17 years and we have all learnt about the perils of banishing the dreaded 'Bingo Wings':

Maybe sometimes, it's just worth buying an outfit with sleeves..........

Ballet Bitch xx