“The Pepper Potts Look”

I spent Sunday in, as any sensible person would given the winter wind rattling windows and dropping the wind-chill to arctic temperatures, watching movies: the Incredibles and Iron Man. I’d seen the Incredibles before and thought it sweet and funny, but what surprised me was how much I liked Iron Man.  It’s a confident movie, light-hearted and brisk, different from the tortured super-hero movies Hollywood has been feeding us of late. Well, as in, since the early ’90s when Batman went ‘dark’ with Michael Keaton.  It’s been almost 20 years since the super-hero became high-minded and tortured by his past. It’s not so new anymore.

Robert Downey Jr and Gwyneth Paltrow are a surprisingly good pair in this movie, and to prove my point, there are a ton of Tony Stark-Pepper Potts-in-love fan videos on youtube. Ahhh, the youtube fan video – I’m not sure I understand the phenomenon or what inspires people to clip film stills together and add a home-made power ballad soundtrack over the image, but it’s as good a hobby as golf, I suppose.

“ Pepper Potts: You’re not Iron Man.

Tony Stark: If I were Iron Man, I’d have this girlfriend who knew my true identity. She’d be a wreck. She’d always be worrying I was going to die, yet so proud of the man I’ve become. She’d be wildly conflicted, which would only make her more crazy about me. Tell me you never think about that night.

Pepper Potts: What night?

Tony Stark: You know.

Pepper Potts: Oh, are you talking about the night where we danced and went up to the roof, and you went downstairs to get me a drink and you left me there by myself?

Tony Stark: (slightly awkward and chagrinned) Uh-huh.

Pepper Potts: Thought so. Will that be all, Mr. Stark?

Tony Stark: Yes, that will be all, Miss Potts. “

Another aspect of the movie, smart in a marketing sort of way, is how many fashion blogs are interested in the ‘Pepper Potts look’. I wonder if this was intentional by the film-makers or if the fitted suits and strawberry blond hair is just fashion serendipity?

Update: I tried to see this movie in the theater with my parents last Spring but as soon as the movie started my mother said, “it’s too loud. I can’t take it, I’m going home.” My poor father wanted to stay and watch the movie, so we left him to do just that, and I took Mom home. We asked for our money back on the way out: “it’s so loud, my ears can’t take it,” my mother told the poor ticket taker, who looked all of twelve. “It’s an action movie, ma’am,” he said, but gave us our money back anyway. I was a little embarrassed. Dad got home,  and I asked him if he liked the movie. “Yes,” Dad said, in his laconic way. Well, he was right. It was good.