Makeovers In Movies

I'm going to take a look at makeovers in movies today. You know, when someone dramatically changes for some reason or another. I really like them, personally, but sometimes they suck too.

Elliot in the third season of Scrubs

Good

In the third season of Scrubs Elliot Reed - one of the show's main characters - is a mess. Just a huge mess. She can't seem to make things work. She's not doing to hot at work, her self esteem is at rock bottom, and life seems to be almost making fun of her. Then she gets some unusually good advice from the hospital's janitor "If you want to change something, then change it". So she does. She decides to grow up. To stop laying down and taking crap. To get mad.

I am in love with this makeover. Nobody made Elliot change, she did it herself because she didn't like the way things were going, and decided to do something about it. Also, I love this song, and I love it when girls get mad and change stuff.


The Zeta Alpha Zeta girls from House Bunny
Bad

This makeover just left me feeling sad and kind of dirty. The Zeta Alpha Zeta girls apparently weren't pretty or very good with boys, so they were "losers".

They were smart, funny individuals but apparently that's just not enough. So Shelly, a Playboy Bunny, sets out to turn them into, you know, bimbos.

I'm absolutely not saying that there's anything wrong with wanting to be girly, or show off a bit if you're feeling good about yourself. But that is not what this makeover was about.  It was about turning these quirky girls who may have been a little strange (but who isn't?) into slutty pink-loving blobs that boys would like. And it changed all of their personalities somehow. In the end they realize that they're being raging ho-bags and tone it down a little, but it still left me with a bad taste in my mouth. I personally preferred them in the beginning of the movie.

Tristan Thorn from Stardust
Good
In the beginning of the movie a dorky but loveable Tristan Thorn sets out to retrieve a fallen star for a bitchy girl that he loves (but she doesn't love him back). Her name is Victoria and she says that Tristan bringing her a fallen star will prove his love to her. So Tristan goes to find the star, who happens to be a girl named Yvaine. They don't get along for a while because, well, he sort of forces her to come with him. Which would make any lady cranky. But they eventually start to become friends and she admires all he's willing to through for the lady he loves. They wind up on a flying ship and Tristan gets a makeover so that he'll be harder to recognize (Tristan and Yvaine are being chased by bad guys).

Before

After
Don't ask me how he suddenly has more hair. It's a movie, okay?

Allison Reynolds from The Breakfast Club
Bad... ish

If you've ever seen The Breakfast Club you'll know that it was all about stereotypes, and the weird one was a girl named Allison Reynolds.

She's strange, unpredictable, and a compulsive lair.
Once the group becomes friends the "Princess" Claire Standish decided to do Allison's makeup.

And suddenly everybody realizes she was pretty all along. Blah. I actually think she looked better before. Even all made up, she's still a weirdo, who are they trying to fool here?

Mia Thermopolis from The Princess Diaries
Good

I thought the Princess Diaries makeover was a good one for a few reasons. Mia didn't ask for a makeover, she didn't even want one. But she accepted responsibility. The fact is that people would rather have an attractive person running their country, and while that's a little sad, it's a fact. Mia sucked it up and got a makeover, because that's what she had to do.

 And Mia was still the same girl even after she had a makeover. She wasn't suddenly popular because she was pretty, her best friend Lilly was mad at her for "selling out" and the popular kids made fun of her for trying to fit in(until they found out that she was a princess, of course).

So I think I only like makeovers that are, well, constructive I guess. Good for the character.

So, yeah. That was an entire post about makeovers. I can do those if I want to, thank you very much.