The Makeover (TV 2013)

This is an update of George Bernard Shaw's "Pygmalion" that changes the genders of the main characters. Hannah Higgins attempts to turn blue-collar Boston beer vendor Elliot Doolittle into ... See full summary »

Director:

John Gray

Writer:

C. Jay Cox

Stars:

Julia Stiles, Frances Fisher, David Walton

Cast

Credited cast:
Julia Stiles	...	Hannah
Frances Fisher	...	Allie Doolittle
David Walton	...	Elliot
Camryn Manheim	...	Colleen
Nada Despotovich	...	Wilma
Georgia Lyman	...	Bonnie
Kortney Adams	...	Teacher
Ken Murray	...	Journalist
Maureen Keiller	...	Vivian
Gary Galone	...	Officer Rory
Amanda Good Hennessey	...	Woman at Civic Leaders Meeting
Tamara Hickey	...	TV Reporter
Albert M. Chan	...	Pearce
Lonnie Farmer	...	Humphrey Rossdale
Thomas Olson	...	Shaughnessy

Storyline

This is an update of George Bernard Shaw's "Pygmalion" that changes the genders of the main characters. Hannah Higgins attempts to turn blue-collar Boston beer vendor Elliot Doolittle into a viable candidate and inadvertently learns something of Elliot's side of life.

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Taglines:

He's her work in progress.

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Genres:

Comedy

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 January 2013 (USA)

Also Known As:

Modern Pygmalion

Filming Locations:

Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$8,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hallmark Hall of Fame Productions, McGee Street Productions, Tomkats Catering

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

16:9 HD

Did You Know?

Soundtracks

"Dirty Water"
(uncredited)
Performed by The Standells

User Reviews

Shooting in Boston

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 on 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.