escapism

Your Sick Boss Fantasies Acted Out On Stylista

Ryan Tate · 10/22/08 04:37AM

In its review of Elle-focused reality show Stylista, the Times finds plenty to like, surprisingly. It seems hippie editor Anne Slowey does a surprisingly convincing impersonation of Meryl Streep imitating Miranda Priestly standing in for mean old Anna Wintour of Vogue. (So much for those embarrassing preview clips from a few months ago.) The catfighting is inspired and "novel." And yet that's not what will hook you on the show. You'll watch because you are aching to pretend, for an hour each Wednesday, that the brutal hierarchy of yesteryear lent work an elegant simplicity. Writes the Times' Gina Bellafante:

Talking Dogs Cure Recession

Ryan Tate · 10/21/08 01:28AM

The Hollywood brain trust is trying to figure out why millions of people prefer to see the talking dogs of Disney flick "Beverly Hills Chihuahua" to "Body Of Lies," an Important Movie about terrorism starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe that got murdered a the box office. The working theory: Everyone is depressed from the near-total-collapse of the Western economic system, and canine dancing helps them forget. So studios are now rushing out escapist movies, according to the Times. Including musicals! Also, to give the foreclosed-upon middle class some catharsis, screenwriters are fast-at-work on Wall Street villain characters: