The movie Demi Moore called “top, top, top, top, top”
It may have happened under completely different circumstances, separated by over half a century, but Demi Moore ended up becoming a Hollywood trailblazer and pioneer just like her idol Katharine Hepburn.
Whereas the former had achieved that status by winning a record-setting four Academy Awards for ‘Best Actress’, going down in history as one of cinema’s greatest-ever performers and multifaceted talents, and symbolising the evolving status of women in society and changing attitudes towards gender dynamics through her life away from the silver screen, Moore accomplished it by starring in one of the worst movies of all time.
Andrew Bergman’s Striptease was burned at the stake by critics and audiences alike, but Moore’s $12.5million payday – and subsequent $11m salary for the equally maligned G.I. Jane – made her the highest-paid female performer in history at the time and the first to earn money comparable to the biggest male A-listers of the era.
With that in mind, it makes complete sense for Hepburn’s classic romantic comedy The Philadelphia Story to be one of Moore’s personal favourites. In celebration of International Women’s Day, the actor waxed lyrical on what it meant to her personally: “The first woman I was inspired by on screen was Katharine Hepburn in The Philadelphia Story,” she said. “It was the first time I remember seeing a female character on screen that was truly complex.”
Expanding on her admiration, Moore explained how “she embodied a strength, a beauty, an intelligence and an independence to be the woman, the person, she wanted be”. Hepburn’s Tracy Samantha Lord “didn’t feel the need to follow convention in any area of her life,” while she “particularly loved her desire to wear trousers over skirts,” which she acknowledged as “a scandalous choice for the time that shifted the way I believed women could show up in Hollywood and the world.”
When discussing her favourite movies with Alec Baldwin in a conversation with Rotten Tomatoes, Moore further outlined her undying love for The Philadelphia Story, which she called “by far, for me, one of the top, top, top, top, top movies”. Considering it was nominated for six Academy Awards, including ‘Best Picture’ and ‘Best Director’ – with James Stewart winning ‘Best Actor’ for his efforts – she certainly isn’t alone in praising the timeless great as one of American cinema’s finest efforts.
The 1940 original was even adapted as a star-studded musical just 16 years later, with Bing Crosby, Gene Kelly, and Frank Sinatra taking top billing in High Society, which only served to underline the impact The Philadelphia Story had made on not just the motion picture industry, but the public consciousness as a whole. Fast forward 50 years, and Moore was emulating the star of her favourite film by breaking down barriers for women in Hollywood in an entirely different manner in what was a full circle moment both personally and professionally.
