Very Ralph

An informative look about a dude who built an empire around nice but very pedestrian clothes

A polished story on how a guy from The Bronx with his own sense of style beat the odds to find fame and fortune.

Even entering his 80s, Ralph himself seems amazed by how his knack for fashion could lead to such massive success.

I found the first 40 minutes or so quite interesting, then it became repetitive and overly long.

"Very Ralph" is a sentimental tribute to Ralph Lauren, who founded a multifaceted fashion, home design, fragrance and lifestyle brand empire, including the iconic Polo brand.

The best parts of the documentary are the segments about Ralph's early days growing up in the Bronx and how he built his business from scratch. He describes falling in love with his wife, Ricky, and living in a tiny, bare apartment under the El train, finding stylish decor pieces at thrift shops and living a simple life pursuing their interest in art and design. The director does a good job examining how Lauren launched his business in men's ties and suits, and subsequently created of one of the world's most successful, iconic lifestyle brands. Ralph Lauren's name instantly conjures up visions of unstudied luxury, glamour and good taste, and really, the imagery of old-money WASP elite Americana. He is a huge American business success story, and he seems very modest, self-effacing and very family-oriented to boot. He and his wife still seem completely in love and devoted to one another and their family, and they look great too.

"Very Ralph" is overly long, however, and some of it is very beautiful to look at but kind of boring (which some people might say about his clothes). The movie touches on Lauren's use of prominent black models like Tyson Beckford as the face of his brand in the '90s, which was seen as groundbreaking, and how Polo became a symbol of success and luxury to people who couldn't afford the stuff.

"Very Ralph" would have been more interesting if it focused more on Lauren as a business innovator and brand marketing genius, which I think he truly is. It would be more interesting as a business story and not so much as a glowing tribute.

There were some interesting things described about Ralph in the movie.

"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.