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Art and celebrity collide, with celebrity winning, in the documentary "The First Monday in May," an inside look at one of New York's most glamorous events.
Director Andrew Rossi ("Page One: Inside the New York Times") and crew got intimate access to the Metropolitan Museum of Art during the creation of its Costume Institute's annual spring exhibit for 2015, which examined the influence of China, and Westernized views of China, on fashion. The exhibit always opens with the Met Gala, a fundraiser organized by Vogue's imperious editor, Anna Wintour, that brings together the leading lights of fashion, Hollywood and New York society.
Rossi tries to raise issues about fashion as an art form, and the internal politics the exhibit's curator, Andrew Bolton, navigates within the Met. But his attention is diverted, like a squirrel seeing a shiny object, by the star wattage from the likes of Lady Gaga, Anne Hathaway, Jennifer Lawrence and Rihanna — which may say more about our celebrity-obsessed culture than the Met's annual pandering to it.
'The First Monday in May'
Opens Friday, April 29, at the Broadway Centre Cinemas; rated PG-13 for brief strong language; 90 minutes.