Monroehan

I know this happened a week ago, and technically not blogging about it when it happened seems a little sub par for someone trying to be a good blogger, but the truth is, I didn't hear about it till last Friday, when I was too lazy to comment. And also more invested in trying to finish season 1 of Arrested Development online (unfortunately Hulu has a pretty skinny offering when it comes to Arrested, and my stolen wireless offers me limited alternative options). But ANYWAY. Onto more "arresting" (**chortlechortle**) topics, as people getting nekkid in Hollywood is vastly more interesting than what I do in East Greenpoint. Lindsay Lohan posed nude (!) for New York Magazine, emulating the "Last Sitting" spread taken of Marilyn Monroe right before she died in 1962. Naturally this incited a lot of stir because it was the first time a 20-something Hollywood party girl showed the world her bits a) intentionally and b) without stumbling out of a Bentley high on vicodin and Absolut. Also because considering the recent death of Heath Ledger, the timing seems a little uncouth on New York's behalf. I also find it a little questionable because I wouldn't be surprised if Lohan ends up in the same situation Marilyn did six weeks after her shoot. Granted, I'm sure she's skated dangerously recklessly on that thin ice before and that's why she's such a rehab vet - Marilyn probably would have behaved the same way if drug addiction and sexy self-destruction were as glamorous back in the Kennedy era.

So really, I guess my verdict is that the only aspect of this creation that could be spun as "tasteless," which so many people are wont to call it, is the timing. Other than that, I find the concept incredibly intriguing. The photographer, Bert Stern, was the same who photographed Monroe, and the idea of recreating the spread with a current actress (or, you know, someone who is grossly overpaid to make poor life decisions and live more extravagantly than you) is really classy, I find. Where it falls (really really) short, however, is that few people - me included - have any iota of respect for Lindsay Lohan nowadays, and honestly, she does not look good in these photos. They're in no way pornographic or vulgar (though they are more revealing than Monroe's version), but they're also not really... pretty? I'm not going to come down on her for gaining weight, but something about Lindsay's body just seems amateur and lazy (ditto on the editing - FTW man?), and her face shows the exhaustion of someone who just woke up after taking a two-day nap. After taking a two-day roll and coke binge. (Whoa! I'm harsh!)

But! One plus is that I am totally pleased by the magazine's spring 2008 fashion series, which fortunately did not include these puppies. Yikes!