The Makeover

Title: The Makeover

Media: DVD

Publisher: Hallmark

Genre: Romance/Drama/Politics

ISBN: 795902357536

Length: 95 minutes

MSRP: $20

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

I'll admit it.  Despite loving romantic movies, I have never seen My Fair Lady or Pygmalion.  Yes, it's sacrilegous.  The Makeover might not become a classic like My Fair Lady, but it definitely will capture your heart with its charming casts of characters and well written plot.

Based on Pygmalion and set in modern times, Hannah Higgins (Julia Stiles) is a Boston education consultant, whose snobby, prim and proper attitude made her lose her chance of becoming Senator.  A year later, the senate seat opens up again due to ironic circumstances.  Hannah wanted to run again but after all the negative feedback, she decides on another tactic - have someone else run in her place.  Steps in Elliot Doolittle (David Walton).  A beer vendor, Elliot wanted a job with better pay.  So, he decided to seek Hannah's help in improving his speech and demeanor.  Finding her perfect candidate, Hannah treats Elliot as her "pet project" and was determined to turn him into Congress material.  As they spend more time together, Hannah and Elliot began to realize that their professional relationship was becoming more.  Could this congressional race end in love?

My expectations weren't high at the beginning.  But after getting pass the first 10 minutes of the movie, the plot picked up and I was undoubtedly hooked.  Overall, the movie's presentation was done very well.  The movie was well paced, with a nice balance of humor and drama.  To be honest, I thought I would be bored since I'm not into politics, but the political aspects were fascinating.  There is so much planning that goes into a campaign.  The casting was spot on.  The actors matched their characters perfectly and made them so relateable and lovable.  The acting was amazing.  I found David Walton perfect in his role as Elliot Doolittle.  He was so cute and a sweetheart that you can't help but fall in love with him.  His progress were handled very nicely.  I love, love his witty comebacks.  He got the best lines.  Hannah was harder to warm up to.  She didn't change as much as I expected.  Even to the end, after seeing Elliot working so hard for her and his family, she just couldn't bend just a little bit.  I was slightly disappointed in the lack of opportunities to make her less stiff.  (After doing some research on the original story, Higgins was never suppose to change too much.  Oh well.)  The subtle chemistry between Elliot and Hannah was nicely done.  However, I was pretty down that there wasn't alot of romance.  The movie was too focused on the campaign to really focus on them.

Hallmark has done it again.  A sweet, wholesome romance movie for the whole family to enjoy.  This is a clean movie.  They only kissed once at the end of the movie.  The only extra that there is a Behind the Scenes one.  It goes over the history of Pygmalion, the making of the movie and casts' interviews.  If you are currently loving the Hallmark movies, you have to add this gem to your collection.  If you are expecting something with a lot of depth and not the usual romance movie, pass this one by.  I highly recommend this movie.  I'm definitely going to watch this one over and over.  XD

Note: This is English Audio with English Subtitles only.


Second Note: This review appears on Amazon and Hallmark as well.