MOVIE MAKEOVERSor MAKEOVER MOVIES
You know the type. Take one nerdy, frumpy, servant or savant. Whip off her glasses, de-pin the mousy brown hair, toss (and burn) that baggy green sweat suit. Then bathe in bubbles, perfume with Chanel, make-up, cut, curl, coif, drape her in slinky silver silk -- and WOW! The stunning new woman achieves whatever dream she has desired from afar. Herein I used only movies I've seen, and in no particular order. However, I gave a #1 nod to Audrey Hepburn's immortal portrayal of Eliza Doolittle, the quintessential makeover maiden.
1. My Fair Lady - the original (unless you count Pygmalion and the Greek myths, but who wants to get technical?)
2. Pretty Woman
3. Miss Congeniality
4. Grease -- Sandy takes it to another level.
5. Clueless
6. Tootsie -- okay, technically not a "woman" being made over, BUT if you really study this movie as a great piece of character writing... wow. The layers of foreshadowing, mirroring, conflict, and characterization are amazing! Well worth a writer's time to study.
7. Now Voyager -- an oldie, but a goody. Bette Davis rocks. From frump to fashionista. Why? A man, of course. Ah......we'll have to work on that, won't we?8. American Dreamer -- I love this movie.
Striving romance writer wins contest, trips to Paris, conked on head, wakes up thinking she's a character in a book -- complete with couturier makeover scene.
9. Moonstruck -- Don't you just love it when Loretta walks out of that beauty parlor and a guy whistles at her for the first time in her life?
10. Princess Diaries
11. My Big Fat Greek Wedding
12. Legally Blonde
13. Maid in Manhattan - I enjoyed this movie in a popcorn sorta way. A lot of people don't like Jennifer Lopez, but I think, with some work, she's a good comic actress. Sort of Doris Day for her time -- but with sex added.While researching this list I read excerpts from a book that concludes as a society we are NUTS for makeovers. Want to boost show ratings? Do makeovers. Want to write a bestseller? Include a makeover. From Cinderella to Now Voyager to Princess Diaries -- we are hopefully enamored of our ability to change from the caterpillar to the butterfly -- and win the day, if not also true love.
2 comments:
Hmmm...I lost my comment somehow. So, I'll start again and I apologize if it suddenly shows up twice. Basically I said something about all of these being drawn from the original Greek myth of Pygmalion and Galatea. And there are tons more that fit this whole makeover theme. The Mirror Has Two Faces, Educating Rita, still...Audrey's the Queen.
It also happened in real life... a couple of times became tragedy...
Princess Diana and Grace of Monarco.
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