THE funniest moment in “Valentino: The Last Emperor” has to be when one of designer Valentino Garavani’s five pampered pug dogs (they live better than a lot of humans in this time of recession) defecates on-camera.
Or perhaps when Vogue fashion sage Andre Leon Talley, a rather large gentleman, settles into a garment that might have been designed not by Valentino but by Omar the tentmaker.
Actually, director Matt Tyrnauer’s affectionate portrait of the designer – who retired in 2007 after 45 years as a haute couture icon – is filled with affecting moments.
Not the least of them show Valentino and Giancarlo Giammetti, the designer’s longtime lover and business partner, having spats over relatively trivial matters. They bicker about everything from the state of Valentino’s tan and weight to the need for more ruffles on a gown.
We get to see the diminutive Valentino, who is in his 70s, visit Rome, Paris and Venice in his private jet, sail on his yacht and rub shoulders with celebrity buddies such as Sophia Loren, Michael Caine, Gwyneth Paltrow, Elton John, the late Princess Di, Karl Lagerfeld and some European royals of whom you’ve probably never heard.
“Valentino: The Last Emperor” makes no attempt at being a definitive portrait of Valentino. It is content to be a breezy look at the designer’s twilight years.
The soundtrack overflows with the distinctive music Nino Rota composed for the films of Federico Fellini.
At one point, Valentino and Giammetti visit Rome’s Via Veneto, where they first met, after which we’re presented with a shot of hunky Marcello Mastroianni on the very same street in Fellini’s 1960 “La Dolce Vita.” Pure movie magic. vam@nypost.com
VALENTINO: THE LAST EMPEROR
Fashionably late in life.
In Italian, French and English, with English subtitles. Running time: 96 minutes. Not rated (bare-breasted female model). At Film Forum, Houston Street west of Sixth Avenue.