The Makeover (2013)
It’s not marketed this way, but the Hallmark Hall of Fame movie The Makeover is actually a modern remake of Pygmalion. That makes the fourth modern remake of a classic Julia Stiles has made! This movie is actually very clever, bringing to life a new side of Henry Higgins: as a woman.
Julia stars as Hannah Higgins. Her partner in her consulting firm is Colleen Pickering (played by Camryn Manheim). Hannah is a failed Congressional candidate who, on the night of her concession, overhears the appalling low-class manner of speech uttered by a beer delivery man, Eliot Doolittle (played by David Walton). She insults his English and makes fun of him, telling him that if he improved his speech he could really make something of himself. The next morning, he shows up at her office and offers to pay her for elocution lessons. On a bet with Pickering as to who gets the corner office, Higgins takes Doolittle on. The first stop on the “makeover” is at a salon, where Higgins plucks off Doolittle’s grungy baseball cap and orders the hairdresser to burn it. Isn’t that cute?
Since I acted in Pygmalion, I’m intimately acquainted with the script. Those who don’t know it (or My Fair Lady) very well might not grasp just how clever it is. Instead of Alfred Doolittle, the drunken, disreputable father, there’s Allie Doolittle (played by Frances Fisher), a drunken, jailbird mother. From start to finish, there are cute and clever similarities that will make theatre fans smile. My favorite has to be the replacement of “The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain.” Since the story takes place in Boston, Doolittle has a thick Boston accent. Higgins tries to teach him to say, “I parked my car on the far side of the yard.” It’s hilarious!
DLM Warning: If you suffer from vertigo or dizzy spells, like my mom does, this movie might not be your friend. There are a few scenes with photographer flashes and swirling camera movements, and that will make you sick. In other words, “Don’t Look, Mom!”
More Julia Stiles movies here!
Julia stars as Hannah Higgins. Her partner in her consulting firm is Colleen Pickering (played by Camryn Manheim). Hannah is a failed Congressional candidate who, on the night of her concession, overhears the appalling low-class manner of speech uttered by a beer delivery man, Eliot Doolittle (played by David Walton). She insults his English and makes fun of him, telling him that if he improved his speech he could really make something of himself. The next morning, he shows up at her office and offers to pay her for elocution lessons. On a bet with Pickering as to who gets the corner office, Higgins takes Doolittle on. The first stop on the “makeover” is at a salon, where Higgins plucks off Doolittle’s grungy baseball cap and orders the hairdresser to burn it. Isn’t that cute?
Since I acted in Pygmalion, I’m intimately acquainted with the script. Those who don’t know it (or My Fair Lady) very well might not grasp just how clever it is. Instead of Alfred Doolittle, the drunken, disreputable father, there’s Allie Doolittle (played by Frances Fisher), a drunken, jailbird mother. From start to finish, there are cute and clever similarities that will make theatre fans smile. My favorite has to be the replacement of “The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain.” Since the story takes place in Boston, Doolittle has a thick Boston accent. Higgins tries to teach him to say, “I parked my car on the far side of the yard.” It’s hilarious!
DLM Warning: If you suffer from vertigo or dizzy spells, like my mom does, this movie might not be your friend. There are a few scenes with photographer flashes and swirling camera movements, and that will make you sick. In other words, “Don’t Look, Mom!”
More Julia Stiles movies here!