Eleven Minutes
It didn’t grab me. Not at first. A documentary that tracks the winner of a reality show — in this case Bravo’s Project Runway — after his victory. Huh? But Eleven Minutes busts a few fresh moves.
For starters, designer Jay McCarroll — proudly gay, chubby and opinionated — knows that his TV notoriety has earned him mostly snubs from fashion elitists. And here he is determined to put on his own show in Manhattan’s Bryant Park, using plus–size models, with the help of friends willing to work for free. The Humane Society backs him for not using furs or leather.
But in the eight months it takes McCarroll to put on an 11–minute show, he finds many of his ideas diluted. PR advisers don’t see room for a guy who says his designs are inspired by “vaginal discharge.” Even if you’ve never heard of Project Runway, the battle between art and wicked compromise never goes out of style.