Hannah
Higgins (Julia Stiles) is a well-educated,
smart and exceptionally driven educational language consultant, however she
lacks the ability to relate to people. She runs for Congress and loses the
election because, compared to the other candidate who is a television weatherman,
she is demanding and unlikeable. On election night, after delivering her
concession speech, she and her campaign manager Colleen (Camryn Manheim) encounter beer delivery man Elliot Doolittle (David Walton), and Hannah cannot resist
pointing out to him how his thick South Boston accent defines him and limits
his opportunities. The next day Elliott has an opportunity to apply for a
position as a beer sales representative and decides to seek Hannah’s help to get
rid of his accent. Initially Hanna rejects his offer but then she observes that
Elliott has a way with people and if she could give him a makeover he would be
the perfect candidate to run for Congress and be a spokesman for her own ideas.
So
we have all the elements of G.B. Shaw’s Pygmalion
– or its modern version My Fair Lady
- with the genders reversed: Hannah (rather than Henry) Higgins, Elliot (rather
than Eliza) Doolittle, Colleen as Colonel Pickering and Allie (rather than
Alfred P) Doolittle played by Frances
Fisher.
Being
a typical Hallmark movie, The Makeover
is lightweight fun featuring attractive leads who end up falling for each other,
although there really is very little chemistry between Stiles and Walton.
Beneath the surface, however, there is a genuine message about the value of
education and especially about the needs of those with learning disabilities
and how special tools are employed to teach them.
Labels:
comedy, Julia Stiles
IMDb 57/100
RottenTomatoes Averages (critics=TBD, viewers=56)
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