SAG Awards 2008: Red Carpet Commentary

Sometimes less is more but at the Screen Actors Guild Awards last night, more was definitely more. You weren’t in the cool kids group unless you were wearing enough fabric to make a ball gown for the Statue of Liberty.

Angelina Jolie went for miles and miles of brown tie-dye-ish cloth with no shaping or definition whatsoever but because she’s Angelina Jolie, she just about pulled it off. She does have the ultimate accessory hanging off her arm though - and the prettiest mancessory in the box does go along way to making her look elegant when she’s just wearing something featureless.

Sandra Oh went for more tailoring for her gown - but just as much fabric. The bow at the front is a little too big for my liking but the skirt and the colours are very fun - and I like to think she smuggled a stowaway into the ceremony under her dress. Perhaps Patrick Dempsey.

Carla Gugino and Marion Cotillard (who was awesome - and is Oscar nominated - for her role in La Vie en Rose) both went for big skirts too but with much snugger bodices. I think the red is fantastic on Carla and the neckline fun just a little bikini-ish, while Marion looks wonderfully glamorous and petite in her subtly silver number.

Eva Longoria also went for a subtle shine - white and silver - but had an overall more sleek silohuette. Her Desperate Housewives co-star Teri Hatcher went for even slimmer for her gown but came off looking a bit bridesmaid-ish (that hair style really suits her though).

Sticking with the Housewives Nicolette Sheridan seemed to be honing her inner porn-star - all blonde hair and breasts - in an otherwise pleasant but uninteresting black dress, while you know Marcia Cross spent the whole evening readjusting her gown to avoid starring in her own little topless show. The teal colour looks gorgeous on her pale skin and contrasting with her red hair though and the quality of the fabric looks divine.

Ditto Amanda Bynes. A slightly darker teal but still lovely and her bodice is so pretty. The fabric looks like it’s just the right for the skirt without looking like it’s going to all come tumbling down and the way it sits on the floor is just fabulous. Her Hairspray co-star Nikki Blonsky should take note: Nikki went for a royal blue that came off looking cheap and the raised hemline at the front cuts her legs in half making her look stumpy. Colour-aside, the top part of the dress is great though - showing off that cleavage and providing good coverage for her upper arms.

Their other co-star Brittany Snow takes us back to sleek and sparkly again, and she looks very grown-up and curvy (if slighly sour-faced) in a lovely dress. Ashley Tisdale though comes across as just looking rather flat in her white gown. It hides her shape at her waist and hips, and makes an ironing board of her chest. Unfortunate.

Speaking of unfortunate, it was The Sopranos night but none of the cast really sparkled. It was pretty much their last hoorah as a group but Edie Falco went for a grey, pretty shapeless number and Lorraine Bracco’s choice was just bad in every way. It wasn’t flattering to any part of her body - in fact, outright unflattering for most of it - and the fabric looks cheap in both quality and colour. Not good at all.

Similarly, Keisha Whitaker’s bubblegum pink gown didn’t really work for me. I loved the shape when it was all the rage at the awards shows last year but the colour and the one year on thing pushes the idea “end of season sale at the local market”. Kate Beckinsale also went for a rather garish tone - of yellow this time - and I think I’d be more forgiving of it on another dress - just not this tiered/frilly monstrosity.

A case in point re: my forgiving nature, Vanessa Williams is in a similarly rich yellow but the smooth fabric makes it looks so much better. I’m not too keen on the boob-squishing neckline but the skirt is great. Vanessa’s Ugly Betty co-star America Ferrera - who is usually impeccably dressed at these things - went for grey. And that’s all I have to say about that.

Glenn Close went for grey-silver too and while the colour was better, the gown did nothing for her. She’s looking great for her age but could have benefited from a little fabric around her shoulders to play down the muscles. Michelle Pfeiffer is also obviously looking great for her years and the colour of her dress is ok for, you know, browny-grey but the (lack of) shape? Disappointing.

While we’re on the topic of women who look about 20 years younger than they actually are, Tilda Swinton wore another outfit that only she would try to get away with (fair play: she does usually get away with most of them). From what we can see of it, her dress looks pretty glam and slinky but the boxy jacket over the top is just a bit too Miami Vice for my liking. Julie Christie, who is 66 (!!), also went for a jacket but paired it with, gasp!, trousers! Such an unusual look for the red carpet but it’s pretty classic and chic - just classic and chic for the office.