The Makeover

The Makeover is itself a remake of George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion and the musical version of that play, My Fair Lady, but with an interesting twist; the genders of the main characters in the film have been switched. Set in Boston, The Makeover takes much of its initial energy from the contrast between the varied dialects used by the upper and lower classes of that city's population.

The film is a fun romantic comedy that is reasonably well acted and photographed. It could have been improved by continuing the musical score through the fades between scenes instead of leaving them silent, but this probably was not considered practical with a made for TV movie.

I was in the hospital and high on drugs when I saw this. That also explains my delay in reviewing it since during my recovery I had limited time online and there were other priorities.

Even though it felt like I was dreaming this episode, I still remember some details. David Walton did a very good Boston accent and he was quite appealing as an obviously blue-collar character. And yet Elliot wanted more from life than just delivering beer. An executive position was open in his company, and the uptight but still adorable Hannah tricked him into letting her train him to talk and act properly for that position. Only her goal was to replace the deceased congressman she had wanted to see elected. Elliot did very well in his transition to a sophisticated executive, but did he want the job of congressman? Well, you'll just have to watch for yourself. And there appears to be romantic potential here as well.

Not quite up to the usual Hallmark Hall of Fame standards, but it would have made a very good Lifetime movie.

This sex-change version of George Bernard Shaw's PYGMALION (best known in its musical version of MY FAIR LADY) seems a trifle tired. It works best when it moves furthest from its source; the standout character is Elliot Doolittle's sister, although Frances Fisher as his mother is obviously having a lot of fun with the bowdlerized version of Alfie Doolittle. Julia Stiles as Higgins seems to be clueless about how things actually work and David Walton as Elliot seems to go from a mush-mouthed Southie to someone whose greatest problem with language seems to be when to use "whom" without much struggle.

However, it's a great story and despite a few missteps in the script -- intended to make it fit the standard Hallmark romcom format -- it has some great moments of actual comedy. If, unlike its original, it does not start out all head and let the emotions of the matter sneak in later, that is a choice I can understand.

One particularly praiseworthy fact is that there are a lot of shots that show how clearly this one is set in Boston, and not just the typical setting shots, but real places that someone familiar with the city would choose. I always take special pleasure in seeing things like that in a movie.

Wow! What a wonderful romantic comedy this was and still is, even though IMDb doesn't have it as a romance movie. The acting was top notch! No part of this movie was displeasing, except the Boston accent at the beginning, but thankful that part was short-lived. I adored the script very much! I adored the leading actor and the leading actress as well. What a cute couple! The Dolittle mom was something else. Come on Hallmark movie watchers and raters, this movie was great! The Boston accent was the ONLY piece of this movie that wasn't my perfect cup of tea. Otherwise, everything else was so enjoyable including the Boston scenery. Watch it at least once and if you really like it, come here and give it a better rating.

Well worth watching. Many people watch movies looking for things not to like about them. I watch movies and hope to enjoy them or not. If you like the characters, most times you like the movie. I liked all the characters in this movie. I enjoyed the story too.