The Makeover (2013)

After losing election for US Congress, the well spoken Hannah coaches a beer vendor for the position as he, contrary to Hannah, has a likable personality. Can they learn from each other?

Director:

John Gray

Writer:

C. Jay Cox

Stars:

Julia Stiles, David Walton, Camryn Manheim

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Julia Stiles	...	Hannah Higgins
David Walton	...	Elliot Doolittle
Camryn Manheim	...	Colleen
Georgia Lyman	...	Bonnie
Frances Fisher	...	Allie Doolittle
Tony V.	...	Frank (as Tony 'Tony V' Viveiros)
Nada Despotovich	...	Wilma
Maureen Keiller	...	Vivian
Bill Mootos	...	Wade Bradbury
Lonnie Farmer	...	Humphrey Rossdale
Albert M. Chan	...	Pearce (as Albert Chan)
Marianna Bassham	...	Jean Evans
David Santori	...	Monsieur Rupert
Chris Zito	...	Victor
Marc Carver	...	Mr. Warner

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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Plot Keywords:

competition | punishment | embarrassment | public humiliation | scolding | 

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Taglines:

He's her work in progress.

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

The classic rock and roll song Dirty Water which plays during the bowling scene and at the end is the original 1966 version by the Standells. The lyrics include references to the pollution of the Charles River and Boston Harbor.

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Goofs

In the last scene Hannah parks her car right in front of Elliot's front door and walks around the car to get to the door. When she comes out again she walks about eight paces uphill to get to her car.

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Connections

Version of Pygmalion (1938)

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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 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.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 January 2013 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ein Kandidat zum Verlieben

Filming Locations:

Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$8,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hallmark Hall of Fame Productions, McGee Street Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

16:9 HD