Poor inner-city girl (Diana Ross) just wants to be a successful fashion designer but can't get a big break. She finally does get a break, not as a designer but as a model. She becomes world famous and eventually gets the chance to show the world her designs. Oh, and there's some stuff about an up-and-coming politician (Billy Dee Williams) she loves and a homosexual photographer (Anthony Perkins) who "understands the needs of a woman." Cheesy kitsch from Berry Gordy. The story is trite and the performances are mostly unimpressive. Anthony Perkins does ham it up, which is the primary reason to recommend this. Once his character is gone the movie goes downhill fast. Also features B-movie legend Nina Foch and the film debut of Bruce Villanch. Diana Ross shows her limitations as an actress but at least she does so in hilariously awful fashion. Speaking of fashion, don't eat before seeing this movie or you might lose your lunch at the sights of some of the terrible dresses on display. It was the '70s, baby. Diana sings the theme song ("Do You Know Where You're Going To") that plays throughout the movie. It didn't impress me much at first but damned if it wasn't stuck in my head by the end. It's not a good movie but there is so-bad-it's-good value.Watch for the ghetto photo shoot scene. As Diana and Billy Dee argue there's this background actor in between them whose eyes just go from one actor to the other as they say their lines like he's watching a tennis match. All of the other actors behind them look away from them, pretending they aren't talking loudly right in front of everybody. But not this guy. I don't know if he was an actual actor or an extra or what but sticking him in the middle of the scene turns a dramatic scene into comedy. A perfect example of the kind of quality that went into making this.

Even tho miss Ross is credited with the costumes designs for this film. The fashion show sequence was a ripoff. The kabuki gowns and her purple costume for the fountain scene were direct direct ripoffs from the famous and great ERTE. The late Russian artist. Her gold kabuki gown was horrid her design. The multi colored pleated gown was OK. But no earth shaker. The white Galitzan gown look terrible on her. She was to thin for that look. As a fashion picture this film has much to be desired. She did wear some nice things in the film. But not sure if she had a hand in those also. I know some designers like be difficult to work with. But her scene where she was berating the seamstress. Made me angry you get nothing from yelling at people who don't understand your language. I would have clocked her if she spoke to me that way. lol Evan Divas have to come down off the pedestals sometime.

This movie is a roller-coaster of camp, from start to finish. It is like a bunch of gay men sat down to figure out how to dress up Diana Ross and put her in different outfits all done to a never-ending loop of Diana's own song. The montage of Diana as fashion model is perhaps one of the funniest and campest scenes in a movie, and of course was copied almost shot for shot for the Beyonce montage scene in "Dreamgirls". It has to be seen to be believed.But no-one can inspire a drag queen like Ms. Ross who never lets plot or story-line interfere with her chances to soft pout or give us long enigmatic looks. The good thing is the plot and story-line is so thin and transparent, she doesn't have to struggle too much. The storyline is simple....girl from the projects with big dreams leaves behind the bleakness of Chicago as she is "discovered" by Anthony Perkins who can't quite figure out if he is gay in the movie (as he was in real life) or straight. He veers from camp to psychotic misogynist sometimes in the same scene. The result is unintentional hilarity.Part of the rags to riches subplot (if you can call it that) is the Billy Dee Williams character who we know is the true love of Ms.Ross. He is a local activist in Chicago who runs for political office. This part of the story is boring, because Diana isn't dressed up and mincing though every scene. It is also boring because Billy Dee's character is almost as clichéd as the rest of the story. Fighting the white honky sometimes with words but sometimes with fists. He is down-to-earth and hard-working as well as fearless. We are supposed to want him to win. Ms.Ross makes a decision that happiness trumps fame and glory and that is the end...or kind of the end. Actually I don't remember the story, because the camera barely moves from Ross the whole time.If you love high camp then this movie is for you. At one point Diana Ross says, "I wonder if I'm doing the right thing.." Oh Diana, you are. You are doing the right thing. Fun fact, some of the frocks on display were designed by Ms. Ross, and the whole camp drag-show was put together by her then lover, Berry Gordy.This move is camptastic!

I never even saw this movie at all until I got it on DVD a few weeks ago. The only thing I knew regarding this movie was the title theme that Diana sang (Do You Know Where You're Going To). She sang this song quite well, and it is one of my most favorite songs of hers. Her acting was quite remarkable. She plays a ghetto girl who dreams of being a fashion designer. The movie starts out with the Asian fashion show thing; what is surprising is that the costumes glowed in the dark at the beginning. Anthony Perkins plays Sean McAvoy, the fashion photographer who tries to take advantage of Tracy's career (he gave her the nickname Mahogany). Anthony's character in this film is as equally crazy as his Norman Bates character in Psycho from 15 years earlier, but, of course, he doesn't have his mother's shell in a house up a hill. The craziest thing in the film is toward the end, where Sean and Tracy are shooting a commercial in an Italian sports car, and then he starts taunting her, to where the car goes out of control, Tracy gets nervous and tries to get control of the car, but the car crashes and Sean is dead. She survives. Billy Dee Williams is great as the politician boyfriend of Tracy's. Beah Richards plays Tracy's aunt Florence. Her role was great as well, even though her screen time was limited. I was so happy to get this movie on DVD, because I never saw it before--not even on TV. A must have for any fan of Diana's. The scenes in Rome are beautiful as well. The music in the film is brilliant also, especially the title theme song in instrumental form. If you have the soundtrack album, check that song out too.