The
glitzy soap Dynasty (1981- 89) reached the heights of international
popularity in the early 80s. Aaron Spelling and the creative team
behind the show crafted this made-for-television gem as a showcase
for its star Joan Collins. Making of a Male Model (1983)
is a glamorous peek into the dog eat dog world of modeling, male
modeling to be exact.
While
en-route to a photo shoot, superstar modeling agent Kay Dillon
(Collins) is nearly run off the road North by Northwest-style
by some yokel in a crop dusting plane. The pilot turns out to
be Nevada ranch hand Tyler Burnett (Jon-Erik Hexum) the soon-to-be
male model of the title.
"Have
you ever considered a career in modeling?" Kay asks, looking him
up and down with her expert eye.
"Huh-uh,
should I have?"
When
a local gal passes Tyler over, one has to question her sanity.
Giving up Jon-Erik Hexum for a guy who drives a Trans Am? Some
people need to get their priorities straight. With no place and
no girl to call his own, Tyler heads to the big city.
Arriving
in New York dressed in his finest Stetson and sheepskin coat,
Tyler meets his new roommate. Chuck is a bitter, emotionally crippled,
washed up fellow model. Noticing Chuck's black eyes, Tyler asks,
"You get into a fight or somthin'?"
"Yeah,"
he answers, "with my plastic surgeon." In an over the top performance
by Jeff Conaway, Chuck is a veritable walking billboard for the
evils of fame, fortune and excess.
Meanwhile
Kay must turn her diamond in the rough into a polished gem. "He's
got that natural raw sex look." But Tyler hates all the primping
and preening and wants to go on his first job interview just as
he is.
At
a casting call the next day, photographer Arte Johnson shouts
at Tyler, "Take off your shirt. I wanna see your body." Tyler
is rejected, despite the fact that Hexum has the face and body
of a Greek god.
Perhaps
Kay was right. Tyler relents and is soon being plucked, dyed and
trimmed in a make-over montage that transforms Tyler from a handsome
bumpkin to an even more handsome metrosexual-type. The song used
to score the scene is pretty memorable too. The funky R&B/disco
tune isreminiscent of the type of music they use in porn. Wonka-wonka-bah-wah.
Back
at their apartment, Tyler pumps some iron and waits for word on
his first job while Chuck drinks like a fish and throws himself
a pity party. "It's a strange apple this Big Apple" he muses.
Thankfully the phone rings with news that Tyler got the catalog
job after all. Just wait until he sees the clothes he has to wear,
which might be described as 80's republican chic.
After
his first successful job, Kay takes Tyler to a costume ball. Dressed
as a rhinestone cowboy, Tyler sneers at the industry types around
him, "A bunch of weirdoes and queers."
"You
know of course that Chuck is gay."
"It's
different; he's a friend of mine."
"Then
why are you so damn judgmental about all the others?" Kay asks.
"Why don't you just accept the fact that we are all free to live
our own lifestyle and do exactly as we please." Quite a progressive
attitude for 1983, but the life lessons are put on hold when ad
exec Kevin McCarthy accosts Kay. Tyler does his costume proud
by coming to her rescue and roughing up the drunken McCarthy.
Impressed by his gallantry, Kay finally bursts the bubble of sexual
tension between them and beds Tyler in her ritzy Central Park
West apartment. A romantic at heart, Tyler wants them to live
together, but Kay is a modern career-driven gal and insists on
remaining unattached.
Tyler's
next audition happens to be for the same ad exec that he manhandled
at the costume party. Not even McCarthy is immune to the charms
of Jon-Erik Hexum. Tyler lands the commercial for Fever
cologne and instantly becomes a huge star.
"Try
it…and let her catch the fever", he sexily intones.
While
Tyler's career soars, Chuck's has landed in the gutter. A scenery-chewing,
drunken mess, he bemoans his fall from supermodel grace when he
doesn't get a gig standing next to a car at an auto show. He's
too old. Waving his drink around like he's in a road show production
of Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf? Chuck berates Tyler's
success. "What do you care? Mr. Sex Symbol of these United States."
For
Tyler, fame has begun to loose its luster. After returning from
a job in L.A. he finds that Kay has been seeing someone else and
that his roommate Chuck has died of a drug overdose. "They didn't
give you much time on the yellow brick road did they my friend?"
On
a shoot in Acapulco, Tyler hooks up with blonde model and smokes
some post sex pot. Reefer is a gateway drug. Did living with Chuck
teach you nothing Tyler?
Soon
he's boozing and partying and missing jobs. "You can be unmade
as quickly as you were made." Kay warns.
"Just
like a bed huh? Well you should know all about that."
Tired
of the fast lane, Tyler heads back home to Nevada where he fulfills
his dream of owning his own farm. Kay finds him working on the
ranch and begs him to return and finish the job he walked out
on. If Tyler doesn't come back the ad agency could sue for breach
of contract. Threatened with the loss of his land, Tyler returns
to the city for one last commercial.
After
the shoot, Tyler stops by Kay's office to say goodbye. She tries
to talk him into a television series he's been offered, but his
mind is made up. Our attractive cowboy/supermodel borrows a horse
from a hansom cab driver and rides off into the proverbial sunset
down 5th Ave.
Joan
Collins' portrayal of Kay could never be described as low-key,
but compared to the outrageous antics of Alexis on Dynasty,
she seems rather saintly. Fans of Collins won't be disappointed
though. There's enough shoulder-padded glamour (courtesy of designer
Nolan Miller) and sex in Making of a Male Model to satisfy
any Dynasty fan.
Unfortunately,
Jon-Erik Hexum is best remembered as a pop culture footnote. He
died after an on-set accident (Cover Up 1984-85) with a
prop handgun. He had a breezy charm that made him instantly likable.
Hexum's goofy grin gave the impression that, despite his hunk
status, he didn't take it too seriously. It was those looks and
charm that made him ideal for television. It would have been interesting
to see how his career might have grown.
Making
of a Male Model is
not currenlty avialble on video or DVD.
