"Very Ralph" (2019 release; 108 min.) is a documentary about the life and times of fashion designer/lifestyle guru Ralph Lauren. As the movie opens, Audrey Hepburn delivers a dramatic and emotional tribute as only she can. The movie then shift to the headquarters of the Ralph Lauren Corporation, as Ralph Lauren starts talking about himself: "I never went to fashion school, but I had the eye." We then learn about Lauren's very humble upbringing in the Bronx, and then how he met his wife Ricky in the early 60s (they have now been married 55+ years). At this point we are less than 15 min. into the film.
Couple of comments: this is the latest from award-winning documentarian Susan Lacy, whose previous work includes "Jane Fonda In Five Acts" and "Spielberg", just to name those. Here she gets unfettered access to Ralph Lauren and his immediate circle of family and friends. Let's be clear: Ralph Lauren reshaped the American fashion culture unlike anyone else, period. He is mega-successful and from what we can tell, a super nice guy. But there is where the problem lies with this documentary comes in: there is ZERO tension, either on the professional side or on the personal side. In a sense, this documentary is the complete opposite of "The September Issue" where we follow what it takes to put together Vogue's flagship issue, with palpable tension from the get-go to meet the deadline. Now a crisp 80 years young, it appears that Ralph Lauren remains very much involved in the day-to-day operation of his fashion and lifestyle empire. As the film is nearing its end, I kept wondering if anyone would bring up the elephant in the room: what will happen when Lauren steps aside or, inevitably at some point, passes away. But no, the topic isn't brought up in any way, shape or form. And this is a publicly traded company! Bottom line: at almost 1 hr. and 50 min., this documentary is way too long and dreadfully boring. It feels more like an infomercial, rather than an investigative documentary (which is what I had expected).
"Very Ralph" premiered last year on HBO. In the current COVID-19 pandemic, I've been looking to catch up on worthwhile TV shows from HBO and Showtime that I had missed when they first aired, and this led me to "Very Ralph". Even though I love the men's Ralph Lauren Polo clothing line (most of my work shirts are Polo shirts) and I have nothing but great admiration for Ralph Lauren as a fashion icon and as a person, regretfully "Very Ralph" does not make for compelling viewing, and I'm being mild. Of course I encourage you to check it out for yourself and draw your own conclusion.
