Produced in association with Converse.
How many sneakers can you name that have been appearing in motion pictures consistently from the 1950s till now? How many sneakers you know roll like that? How many sneakers you know got the skill to go in rock a movie show like that? Not many, if any.
Whereas the Chuck Taylor All Stars, lovingly made by Converse since 1917, popped up in ‘The Shaggy Dog’ (1959) and have been a costume department mainstay ever since.
Considering they’ve been kicking around Hollywood for almost a century you’d be forgiven for not noticing a lot of the times Cons have been featured, so in the interest of #TheMoreYouKnow and in celebration of the Converse All Star Chuck ‘70 returning in its six original colours, we have put together a list of movies with an All Star cast:
Mean Girls (2004)
The movie about how high school social groups operate and the effect they can have on girls – A Tale of Two Cliques, if you will – is arguably one of the most popular films of the 21st Century. The perfect combination of great writing, acting (Get Well, Lindsay) and all of the more intangible elements that have elevated Mean Girls to cult status also mean that most people have watched it at least fifty times. As such, most have thought about it on a deeper level and can recognise that Janis Ian and Damian, both firm fan favourites, represent the ‘outcast’ and typify the awkward, rebellious and exploratory aspects of the average teen experience.
How Janis dresses goes a long way in representing her as person and the Cons are a vital part of that.
Either that or she’s just got a big *lesbian crush* on them.
AY-YI-YI-YI-YI-YI!
Frank Miller’s Sin City (2005)
When you think of Sin City on the big screen you will undoubtedly be reminded of the colour processing used. The result of some light tinkering with levels was a distinct B&W film noir vibe with ~fun~ flashes of colour representative of the characters’ thang; a prostitute named ‘Goldie’ – BOOM – she gets yellow hair. A dude named Dwight considered the ‘everyman’ of the Basin City players? Somebody give that man a pair of red Cons.
Whether beating on noted woman beater Jackie Boy (Benicio del Toro), fighting on the side of the Old Town prozzies or just generally moving in for the big fat kill, Dwight McCarthy (Clive Owen) is nothing if not practical when it comes to footwear. He has to be. Between trying to get by, keep his inner “monster” at bay and delivering crushing blows to his enemies with his All-Star clad feet, Dwight ain’t got time fo’ an inferior shoe.
So satisfying.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)
What does one wear to collect a portion of Voldemort‘s soul contained within a locket once owned by the Salazar Slytherin from a cursed seaside lake guarded by Inferi and unchill vibes?
Back to the Future (1985)
“Get yourself some 50’s clothes … something inconspicuous!” – Doc.
Marty McFly, he knows what the kids are into.
Marie Antoinette (2006)
Adding a pair of Cons to a movie about Maria Antonia Josephina Johanna Habsburg set in 18th Century France? *Classic* Sofia Coppola.
Viewers have, at times, attributed the blue Cons cameo to a set design fuck up when, in actual fact, Coppola planted the All-Stars to remind modern audiences that Marie Antoinette was a teenager and, despite being married to Louis XVI/the Queen of France, was just a regular gal interested in fun times, kissing boys (preferably those with working dongs) and the occasional retail therapy session.
The Last Dragon
(1985)
When you think of classic scenes in cinema history, you think:
Ideal.
Honourable Mentions: Juno, Encino Man, Wayne’s World, Sandlot Kids, Weekend at Bernie’s and, of course, A Cinderella Story.
UPDATE Honourable Mention: Rocky (thanks for the reminder, Phill Kitt)
