Window Dressing

In my very special Halloween episode, I explore true crime, sex work, and media of the 1980s through the lens of this summer's horror hit MaXXXine. It is the third film in Ty West's trilogy.

Maxine isn’t worried about crime, Aids, or drug addiction. She is concerned with fame, or as she says, “I will not accept a life I do not deserve.” The adage is a gift from her father, a preacher turned serial killer who represents the patriarchy in its purest form. The buxom bootstrap babe makes her way through Hollywood in a twisty and turny homage of a film that climaxes on the Hollywood Sign in a standoff with a shotgun to her daddy’s face.

My sources for this film include Michael Connely's podcast turned mini-series The Wonderland Massacre & the Secret History of Hollywood and the Netflix docuseries Night Stalker: The Hunt for a Serial Killer.

In the season two finale of Window Dressing: American Trash and National Treasures I talk about my favorite arm of the Housewives franchise—The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.

The cast of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills is very interested in accountability and truth. If you break down the “drama” on the show, it is usually fueled by a desire to get the facts of a situation, reckon with them, and then move on. The queen of this investigative work is Lisa Rinna of Days of Our Lives, Melrose Place, and QBC fame. She wants to lay it out there and tell the truth, or as her season 12 tagline put it, “Hi, I’m karma, and yes, I am a bitch.”

MGM’s 1931 film A Free Soul and Norma Shearer’s role as Jan is the topic of this episode of Window Dressing. This film fits neatly into my season two theme: American Trash and National Treasures. Shearer is the treasure, addiction is the undercurrent, and trash is how Clark Gable’s character Ace treats her in this classic film costumed by Adrian.

Daisy de la Hoya speaks to me about her time on the VH1 reality shows Rock of Love and Daisy of Love. She also shares her thoughts and feelings on life.

Thank you Vanessa for taking the time to speak with me🤍

A new episode is coming the first week of July!

This week I wrap up my Tori Spelling discussion with the continuation of Donna and Ray’s tumultuous relationship. Ray chipped away at Donna's dignity through verbal abuse that escalated to physical abuse. But, Donna wins out in the end by standing in her Tori Spelling branded power source-her kindness.

This week I focus on the later years of 90210—specifically season 5.  The days where Donna’s storyline became the primary storyline and her hair went from long to short and her boyfriend changed from David to Griffith to Ray.  Ray Pruitt played by Jamie Walters epitomizes the unstable nice guy so many of us have encountered in our dating life and Donna plays the lost lamb we have all stood next to on the slaughter house steps.

In the next couple of episodes, I delve into one of the most influential teen dramas of all time— and a personal touchstone of my childhood: Beverly Hills 90210. Specifically Tori Spelling’s character Donna Martin and Tori’s life post 90210, including her very public divorce, her reality show True Tori, and her two podcasts Misspelling and 9021omg. This week I focus on one episode of 90210 in particular and its real-world subject matter—the international modeling market.

Tori Spelling Part 1 - one week delay