Film Synopsis

You have probably seen her. Here you will get to know her. ‘Hats Off’ proudly introduces Ms. Mimi Weddell, recently chosen by ‘New York Magazine’ as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in New York - at the age of 90.

Though a part time actress for most of her adult life, it was not until the death of her husband, and at the age of 67, that Ms. Weddell quit her steady day time job, and plunged head on into the notorious theatrical, film and advertising world of New York City.

Peek behind the curtain and on the other side of the camera as we follow Ms. Weddell on her rounds in search of the next show, from photo shoots to casting calls, singing lessons to dancing class.

Finding odd jobs as a model, extra, and sometime principal, we shadow Ms. Weddell, and on that search discover a wisdom that reveals itself with age and perseverance.

“We started filming Mimi when she was in her early 80’s”, says award winning director Jyll Johnstone. “She was the mother of a childhood friend, and we held her in awe. For ten years I had been an actress in New York, earning a living in a way similar to Mimi, and not as successfully. I knew the difficulties of that profession.” Though Ms. Weddell trades winks with Will Smith (“Hitch”), banters with Sarah Jessica Parker (“Sex and The City”), and sits quietly across from Bill Murray (“Broken Flowers”), it is no secret that all is not glamour under the bright lights, and Mimi’s is an additional chapter in that oft told story . “That she was still at it in her eighties was a revelation”, continues Ms. Johnstone. “Though from a conventional point of view she may not have ‘broken through’ (to stardom), in her own way she has. Her innate love and passion for the theatrical arts was inspirational, and we thought it might be so to a broader audience. That is how we began.”

“I sensed that she was interesting and eccentric”, says Johnstone, “but had little idea how much we would come to enjoy her; her observations, humor, and just plain grit. That she doesn’t stop. The fun that she has, and the fun that she shares.”

But it is Ms. Weddell’s willingness to take off her hat, exposing what may lay underneath, that propels her story forward.

That story includes her adult children, son Tommy and especially daughter Sarah, who with Sarah’s husband (who chose to remain off camera) and Sarah’s son (Kit) has lived with Mimi for the last nineteen years. Though mother (Mimi) and children (Tommy and Sarah) could not appear more different, the children’s ballast seemingly keeps Ms. Weddell from simply floating away. It is a picture of how families can have unexpected and humorous ways of composing themselves,
and the struggle that love has in expressing itself, often so within family bonds.

The story is also about dreams, both literal and figurative. In the dead of winter, Ms. Weddell travels with a cousin on an ethereal journey to visit for the very first time the city of Florence, Italy, for the celebration of her 90th birthday, a goal she has held since age ten. As she proclaims, “If you can achieve one dream in your life, just one, no matter how small or how big, it’s a miracle, it’s a miracle”.

Some would say it is akin to another miracle that Ms. Weddell’s physical beauty has emerged with age, not the opposite. “She is probably more stunning today, at 92, than ever”, remarks Ms. Johnstone. “We were as surprised as anyone when that ‘First Ever Most Beautiful’ feature ran in ‘New York Magazine’. We had been filming for eight years before that piece came out, and it just gave us pause.”

Among its many elements, ‘Hats Off’ is a film about images - the way they are held and the role that they play. Beauty, illusion the theatrical arts - lineage and social pedigree - all anchored daily to a real life drama of one lady’s struggle to forge her way on the streets of a city.

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