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.

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.

With a tendency to be quite picky about the movies I like, I watched "The Makeover" with some hesitation, not knowing what to expect.

The movie was well made, with good actors. It never felt like a cheaply made or poorly acted movie. If I were to pick any character that I least liked (not necessarily for their acting, but possibly including that), it would have to be the 'mother'.

The story moved along well, without feeling like it was dragging or moving too fast, either. Well balanced.

Movies that are too sappy, or over-the-top romantic, are not to my liking, and was glad that this one was easy on that front.

The only complaint, if I was going to point something out that took away from the movie for me, it would be the one bad time incongruity that I believe occurs in the movie. After '5 weeks' for the office staff not to know about any changes with one of the main characters was lacking in realism. People talk, and they simply would have already known. Period. Without this flaw, I would have given this movie a solid 9/10, but with it, only 8/10.

The result is an adorable and faithful update that spoofs politics, television and Boston while making underlying points about education, class conflict and being oneself. James Welch Henderson, Arkansas 2/8/2021

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.