Why Dennis Quaid's iconic 'Parent Trap' pool scene was a costume designer's nightmare

USA Today

17 hours ago

Not even Elizabeth James could save Dennis Quaid from the fashion heroics of "The Parent Trap."
Quaid starred alongside then-newcomer Lindsay Lohan and Natasha Richardson in the 1998 family comedy about estranged twin sisters Hallie Parker and Annie James, who scheme to reunite their divorced parents after meeting during a chance encounter at summer camp.
One of Quaid's most memorable scenes from the Disney film, which grossed $92.1 million at the global box office, is when his character Nick Parker spots his fashion designer ex, Elizabeth James (Richardson), at a hotel pool area.
Stunned to see his former spouse after more than a decade, Nick quickly — and ungracefully — makes his way across the deck to talk to James, eventually falling into the pool after bumping into a hotel employee. Nick, who was dressed in a crisp two-piece suit and black dress shoes, later emerges from the pool and sheepishly walks over to James to greet her.
"Dennis was very game to fall into the pool a few times in a row, which meant drying off, changing, and taking another spill," the film's director Nancy Meyers told People magazine in an interview published Aug. 9. "He was just wonderful to work with."
The now-iconic scene was filmed at The Ritz-Carlton in Marina del Rey, California, and turned the marina hotel into something of a pop cultural landmark over the years.
"Of all the filming we have had at the hotel over the past 35 years, that is the movie that guests mention the most," Ed Curry, the hotel's director of sales and marketing, told the magazine. "People love the movie, and all seem to know that is our pool area."
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How Dennis Quaid pulled off 'Parent Trap' pool scene
Quaid's commitment to his "Parent Trap" wipeout came at a sartorial cost.
Costume designer Penny Rose told People magazine that Quaid changed between six identical designer suits from Giorgio Armani for the aquatic scene, with the production crew even spraying the suits with pool water to test the fabric.
Rose noted that the chlorine from the pool water caused the suit to shrink. "I mean, I've had Tom Cruise in a fake suede shirt so that he can get it wet," Rose said. "But you can't really replicate an Armani suit."
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Quaid reflected on the impact of "The Parent Trap" on his career in a March interview with People magazine, telling the outlet that the beloved dad character has become his signature role.
"Everybody grew up with 'The Parent Trap,' and now there's always new kids coming along," said Quaid, jokingly adding: "I tell people, 'I was your babysitter because your parents would put this on. They'd go do what they wanted to do in the next room.'"