In her three years in the garment industry, Maher may have learned her way around a sewing room but she picked up nothing about a movie set.

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Garmento (2003)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:22
Fresh:6
Rotten:16
Average Rating:4.6/10
Theatrical Release:Jun 6, 2003 Limited
Synopsis: Fashion is a glamorous industry of beautiful people, right? GARMENTO tells the other side of the story through a dark and comical look beneath the seams of NYC's rag business. Industry insider... Fashion is a glamorous industry of beautiful people, right? GARMENTO tells the other side of the story through a dark and comical look beneath the seams of NYC's rag business. Industry insider Michele Maher reveals an absurd world where shady dealings and ruthlessness are fashionable, setting the trend for corporate America. Poncho Ramirez is considered one of the greatest American designers of the twentieth century. But in 1993 his fashion house, Poncho Ramirez Inc., is now near bankruptcy due to a failed product line. Rival company Romeo Jeans, a has-been brand desperate to revive its reputation, seizes the opportunity to rescue Poncho's company from financial doom and proposes an offer that can't be refused. Although these rivals beg to differ in style and taste, everybody shares one thing in common - making money. The result of this joint venture is a clash of characters and a new jeans line. PR Jeans is introduced to the public with an obscene advertising campaign, stimulating controversy in the media and a buying frenzy among America's teenagers. Sales skyrocket, launching the company into overnight financial success and its executives on a mission to take the company public. In their desperate reach for crucial quarterly numbers, company insiders scheme to protect the millions of dollars at stake. Backstabbing and foul play reveal a world of greed and power where some people get what's coming to them and others don't. GARMENTO is a wickedly amusing satire of everything from the infamous designer jeans craze of the 70s to the real-life tales of corruption inside the world of fashion taken from today's headlines. Shot on NYC's 7th Avenue, GARMENTO was an official selection for the SXSW Film Festival 2002 and the Hollywood Film Festival 2002. Written and directed by Michele Maher and stars David Thornton, Katie MacNichol, Jerry Grayson and Saundra Santiago. The film is rated R and runs 87 minutes. [More]
Starring: Katie MacNicol, David Thornton, Saundra Santiago, Jerry Grayson
Starring: Katie MacNicol, David Thornton, Saundra Santiago, Jerry Grayson, Juan Hernandez, Matt Servitto, Kevin Geer, Gretchen Cleevely
Director: Michele Maher
Director: Michele Maher
Screenwriter: Michele Maher
Producer: Michele Maher
Composer: Ed Tomney
Studio: Spanish Moss Productions
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Reviews for Garmento
Despite MacNichol's sneaky verve and Thornton's sly subtlety the lead characters swiftly fade and shrink.
At times, Garmento looks like the real deal, but underneath the label, it's just another designer rip-off.
As a satire, Garmento is toothless. As a comedy, it's funny only in spurts.
Writer/director Maher has told her tale well, and the end result is a Mahogeny for the turn of the century (without the bad music or the nervous breakdowns).
Despite an excellent start, great characters, and a perfect niche mood, Garmento never fully capitalizes on its potential.
What is Garmento but a lame approximation of sexier and deadlier works like Altman's The Player?
Strong in dialogue and atmosphere, keeping the viewer interested in what is going to happen to these characters.
A toothless, dated Seventh Avenue satire with shaky script, direction and acting.
Without an assured character at its center, the movie quickly collapses in a heap of moldy clichés and contrived (and not especially funny) situations.
Maher shows how commercial buzz gives way to infectious, free-floating greed, but the story has too many characters, about whom we know too little.
This shaky satire set in New York's garment district is consistently undone by an inconsistency of tone and less-than-assured directing and acting.
Maher in her debut as a director/writer does a good job showing why garmento is a derogatory term for the industry that has such a checkered past.
Maher's feature debut has amusing moments, but falls apart as quickly as a cheap knockoff.
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie | Date |
|---|---|---|
| 83% 83% | The Princess and the Frog | 12/11 |
| 83% 83% | A Single Man | 12/11 |
| 60% 60% | The Lovely Bones | 12/11 |
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| | Avatar | 12/18 |
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