If you only know Paris Hilton from THE SIMPLE LIFE, or the sex tape, or her short-lived stint as a Hollywood actress in films like THE HOUSE OF WAX remake or THE HOTTIE AND THE NOTTIE, chances are you wouldn't care to watch an hour-and-forty-five minute profile on a vacuous, impossibly dim-witted blonde bombshell.
I understand this prejudice because I had them. But it took Kim Kardashian to shake me of the idea that reality TV personalities are not to be taken seriously. And once I had this breakthrough, it didn't take long to add Paris Hilton to those ranks--and, no, I've never met either of them, so this is a working hypothesis.
It would be one thing to put on a ditzy, skimpy-clothed persona, rake in millions of dollars via various revenue streams, and then fade away into obscurity. Though few people breathe that rarefied air, it's not impossible to achieve--especially if you have wealthy, famous parents.
Sustaining a glamorous brand, however, takes endurance, business savvy, and a degree of self-awareness that absolutely cannot be faked. Think what you will about societal degradation at the hands of influencers who are famous for being famous, the truth is that Hilton and Kardashian are famous because they work at providing a product (themselves and the aspirational lifestyle they market to dreamers worldwide) and sustaining that product's relevance in a pop landscape whose features change by the news cycle.
Director Alexandra Dean gets unprecedented access to the Hiltons (the ones who'll appear on camera, anyway), and gives audiences a front row seat to the exhausting whirlwind of a life that Paris maintains in pursuit of her goals. Throughout the film, she can be heard to say that she won't rest until she makes a billion dollars.
Arguably, pre-COVID, her net worth was well over that--or at least the brand she and sister Nicky stood to inherit was well in that ballpark. So why claim that she needed to reach that milestone? The answer, as we come to learn, is that SHE wants to earn that money--to be her own woman and show that world that it takes constant fan outreach, tweaking the brand, and an unrelenting 250-days-a-year travel schedule to achieve larger-than-life dreams.
That's one big key to Dean's successful profile. The other is the ability to capture Hilton with her guard down. Entire books could be written about the disconnect between Paris' bubbly public persona and her down-to-business backstage demeanor. The two give and take in fascinating ways, particularly in a brief stretch where we meet a new boyfriend. The culmination of that relationship at a music festival cracks the door of Hilton's guarded psyche even wider, and Dean transitions smoothly into the movie's final act--wherein a number of big puzzle pieces fit together in an ending that moved me in ways few films have this year.
I'm being deliberately vague here, as I want as many people to see THIS IS PARIS unspoiled as possible. You may come away with a new appreciation for the heiress, as I did. Or you may believe Dean and the audience members who fall for the end product to be dupes who've been suckered by a manufactured and utterly disposable personality. Either way, it's impossible to absorb this movie and not see celebrity culture, politics, and even everyday relationships in a new way.
To quote Ben Stein (or Jim Carrey IMPERSONATING Ben Stein, whichever you prefer), "We all wear masks...metaphorically speaking." So even if you believe there's something cynical and calculating underneath the blonde bob and pouty-model lips, there's no denying that there IS something there.
I understand this prejudice because I had them. But it took Kim Kardashian to shake me of the idea that reality TV personalities are not to be taken seriously. And once I had this breakthrough, it didn't take long to add Paris Hilton to those ranks--and, no, I've never met either of them, so this is a working hypothesis.
It would be one thing to put on a ditzy, skimpy-clothed persona, rake in millions of dollars via various revenue streams, and then fade away into obscurity. Though few people breathe that rarefied air, it's not impossible to achieve--especially if you have wealthy, famous parents.
Sustaining a glamorous brand, however, takes endurance, business savvy, and a degree of self-awareness that absolutely cannot be faked. Think what you will about societal degradation at the hands of influencers who are famous for being famous, the truth is that Hilton and Kardashian are famous because they work at providing a product (themselves and the aspirational lifestyle they market to dreamers worldwide) and sustaining that product's relevance in a pop landscape whose features change by the news cycle.
Director Alexandra Dean gets unprecedented access to the Hiltons (the ones who'll appear on camera, anyway), and gives audiences a front row seat to the exhausting whirlwind of a life that Paris maintains in pursuit of her goals. Throughout the film, she can be heard to say that she won't rest until she makes a billion dollars.
Arguably, pre-COVID, her net worth was well over that--or at least the brand she and sister Nicky stood to inherit was well in that ballpark. So why claim that she needed to reach that milestone? The answer, as we come to learn, is that SHE wants to earn that money--to be her own woman and show that world that it takes constant fan outreach, tweaking the brand, and an unrelenting 250-days-a-year travel schedule to achieve larger-than-life dreams.
That's one big key to Dean's successful profile. The other is the ability to capture Hilton with her guard down. Entire books could be written about the disconnect between Paris' bubbly public persona and her down-to-business backstage demeanor. The two give and take in fascinating ways, particularly in a brief stretch where we meet a new boyfriend. The culmination of that relationship at a music festival cracks the door of Hilton's guarded psyche even wider, and Dean transitions smoothly into the movie's final act--wherein a number of big puzzle pieces fit together in an ending that moved me in ways few films have this year.
I'm being deliberately vague here, as I want as many people to see THIS IS PARIS unspoiled as possible. You may come away with a new appreciation for the heiress, as I did. Or you may believe Dean and the audience members who fall for the end product to be dupes who've been suckered by a manufactured and utterly disposable personality. Either way, it's impossible to absorb this movie and not see celebrity culture, politics, and even everyday relationships in a new way.
To quote Ben Stein (or Jim Carrey IMPERSONATING Ben Stein, whichever you prefer), "We all wear masks...metaphorically speaking." So even if you believe there's something cynical and calculating underneath the blonde bob and pouty-model lips, there's no denying that there IS something there.