Young, Sexy & Dead (2023) Movie Review – Philip Alderton’s re-titled satire on the fashion industry is still relevant, but it misses more than it hits

In 2010, director Philip Alderton made a film titled ‘Drop Dead Gorgeous’ (not to be confused with Kristen Dunst, Denise Richards starrer 1999 film) – a satire that dug into the hypocrisy of any business that is built on exploiting people for the sake of money. His 2023 film – Young, Sexy & Dead is essentially the same film sold with a new name. I’m not sure if it’s the conflict with the 1999 film that did not let his film have an identity of its own or if Alderton eventually succumbed to the design of his own satire that made him take that decision. Anyhow, if this story – which pokes fun at fashion, capitalism, and our own moral compass did not exploit its own legacy, I would have had more appreciation for it. 

Shot in mockumentary style reminiscent of Christopher Guest, Young, Sexy & Dead is about Cynthia (Ivy Levan) – a young model who gets her first big project for fashion designer Claudio (Steven Berkoff). She comes to the city for her first big gig, followed by a documentary crew headed by Peter (Nicholas Irons), who are looking for their next big story. However, little did anyone know that the shoot, which is to be done by ace fashion photographer Phillipe (Josh Coxx) will end up being dead – quite literally. When Cynthia overdoses on diet pills and dies, all the people involved somehow come to the conclusion that they will continue doing what they were there to do, except everyone else will be making more money than they were initially going to. 

This sets off an absurd chain of events that tests the viewers and the limits of their own morality. In order to do that, it first introduces us to the documentary crew and their personalities. When Cynthia ends up dead, one of them leaves, but the rest stay in order to ‘observe’ things. Similarly, the idea of introducing an older model, Sabrina (Arielle Vandenberg), desperate to get relaunched, also lets us question the high standard of beauty that the industry settles down to. There are other capitalistic digs that the film tries to revolve around, but most of them fall flat because they all hinge on a single-line idea of a dead corpse being paraded around for the sake of earning money and fame. 

Josh Coxx, who plays  Phillippe, files in a really campy performance – I will particularly remember him talking to all the women’s crotch instead of their faces. However, it doesn’t help that everyone else, including  Jeremy London (Mallrats), playing Robert – a conflicting agent who has to get Cynthia’s mother to sign for her dead corpse to be a part of their campaign, are not very memorable in their roles. 

Overall, Philip Alderton’s re-titled satire on the fashion industry is still relevant, but it misses more than it hits. 

Read More: Fashionista [2017]: Fantasia Film Festival Review

Young, Sexy & Dead (2023) Movie Links: IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes
Young, Sexy & Dead (2023) Movie Cast: Jeremy London, Dawn Olivieri, Arielle Vandenberg, Josh Coxx, Nicholas Irons, Ivy Levan
Young, Sexy & Dead (2023) Movie Genre: Comedy | Runtime: 1h 33 Minutes

Where to watch Young, Sexy & Dead