The Notorious Bettie Page

From the desk of The Movie Snob

The Notorious Bettie Page (B). I knew very little about 50's era pin-up model Bettie Page, but I wanted to see this movie for two reasons: (1) it has gotten some pretty good reviews, and (2) it stars the lovely Gretchen Mol. Mol was touted as the Next Big Thing a few years ago, and even though that never really panned out I have enjoyed her work in other movies. Anyhoo, this is the story of a nice, pretty girl from Nashville, Tennessee who moved to New York City to be an actress but instead found herself modeling for men's magazines that catered to, ahem, a variety of tastes and interests. And although she never found success as an actress, she achieved her own brand of fame (or notoriety) as the "pin-up queen of the universe." In an amusing role-reversal, David Strathairn (Good Night, and Good Luck) plays puritanical Senator Estes Kefauver, who is conducting hearings into the harmful effects of pornography just before Playboy and its imitators swept the field and obsoleted the small-time operators that the likes of Page worked for. The film is an interesting slice of American life in a bygone era, but Mol's enthusiasm and good looks are what really make it work. Page's personality was an unusual combination of Christian fundamentalism and total lack of inhibition in front of the camera, and Mol nails it. Good movie.