REEL LIFE / FILM & VIDEO FILE : Fashion Adds Dimension to French Comedy : ‘A La Mode’ is set in the Jewish quarter of Paris during the 1960s. A young tailor’s apprentice designs his way to romance and fame.

If you wanted to see a really good movie about the fashion industry, but were disappointed by Robert Altman’s “Pret-a-Porter,” the Ojai Film Society is offering a delightful alternative.

“A La Mode” is a warm and inspired coming-of-age comedy set in the Jewish quarter of Paris in the 1960s. The film, directed by Remy Duchemin, features Fausto, a skinny 17-year-old orphan apprenticed to Mietek, a stocky Jewish tailor.

Fausto’s emerging sexuality leads him to decide to make women’s clothes so he can meet pretty girls. He soon falls in love with Tonie, the beautiful young daughter of the local auto mechanic. She turns out to be the perfect model for his creations, outlandish fashions that turn him into an overnight sensation.

But even with his dream realized, Fausto learns that success, like clothes, must sometimes be altered to fit the unpredictable twists and turns of life.

The film screens Sunday at 4:30 p.m. at the Ojai Playhouse.

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And for all of you who sit in theaters thinking, “I could do better than that,” there are a couple of screenwriting classes being offered locally to help you realize your dream.

Learning Tree University in Thousand Oaks is offering an intensive screenwriting class with writer and filmmaker Michael Hacker. He recently sold a script to Disney called “Ironmen” about a disabled triathlete.

Hacker said he takes a different approach to teaching screenwriting.

“Most screenwriting is taught following a rigid structure and formula based on other movies,” he said. “That leaves very little room for originality, and many budding writers feel stifled.”

The cost of unstifling your writing is $195 for the eight-week course at LTU.

For a little less money, the Ojai Film Society is offering a course this weekend with Katherine Ann Jones. Jones teaches advanced screenwriting at the USC Cinema and Television School. For information, call the Ojai Film Society at 646-8946.

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Here’s a bulletin for fans of the popular CBS daytime drama “The Young and the Restless.” One of the newer characters, Nick, isn’t actually from the fictional town of Genoa City. He’s Joshua Morrow from Thousand Oaks.

The former Moorpark College theater arts student was discovered by the show’s producers last year while acting in a college play. Moorpark theater teacher Les Wieder said he isn’t surprised by Morrow’s success.

“He’s a terrific actor. Awfully handsome, too.”