The Butterfly Effect

“I want the fairy tale.”

Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman

Ever since Cinderella slipped on that glass slipper, we have been fascinated by make overs.  Ugly duckling to swan, fat caterpillar to beautiful butterfly, fictional or real life …. people can’t seem to get enough of transformation.  In films, a make over usually represents some larger change or shift in character.  In honour of the film festival season, I have compiled a short list of movie makeovers – my favorite, my least favorite, and a few in between.

Michelle Pfeiffer in Batman Returns - Number one on my list, this is probably the single most satisfying movie makeover of all time.    Pfieffer, playing meek and bespectacled secretary Selina Kyle, is murdered by her bullying, condescending boss .  Lying lifeless in an alley, she is revived by dozens of mewling cats, and stalks home.  Once back in her pretty, feminine apartment, she proceeds to trash both it and her wardrobe, finally emerging, like some kind of S&M butterfly, as the sleek, whip cracking Catwoman.  All of Selina’s repressed rage comes flowing out of Pfeiffer like spilled milk and at the high point of the film.  Meow, indeed.

Susan Sarandon in The Witches OF Eastwick - Sarandon plays Jane, uptight cellist and one of three ‘witches’ who inadvertently attract the devil to their town.  He shows up to Jane’s house and seduces her by accompanying her cello playing on the violin, all the while encouraging her to “Feel it, hold it, love it.”   It’s a hilarious scene, and Jane’s buttoned up look and tight, tidy hairdo are deconstructed shot by shot, as buttons undo and hairs come loose.  She becomes flushed, and her eyes sparkle and by the next time we see her, the full force of Sarandon’s rather formidable sexuality has been unleashed.  Her titian hair is huge, her voluptuous figure is rather sparsely clothed and frankly, she’s acting a little slutty.  But the best part is how totally unapologetic about it she is.

Cher in Moonstruck – One of the most believable movie makeovers, if you can get over the idea of Cher being frumpy in the first place.  Asked out on a date by Nicholas Cage, she impulsively stops in at local salon, and emerges with all her grays rinsed away, eyebrows tweezed and lips painted ruby red.    Here the makeover indicates not that the character has undergone a major personality shift, but simply represents her desire for change and her decision to take control of her life instead of passively accepting whatever comes her way.

Mia Sara in Legend - In Ridley Scott’s 1986 fantasy film, Sara play Princess Lily, beautiful and innocent, so pure that unicorns will let her caress them.  But when the forces of evil come calling, Lily succumbs to temptation and turns to the dark side.  Trapped in the fortress of Darkness, she is alone in a huge ball room when a dress dances into the room.  It sweeps Lily up and spins her around, and when the camera pulls back she is in the dress, curly tendrils of hair slicked back and down, her pretty face made into something much more powerful by black eyeliner and lipstick.  It is the most goth of makeovers, and she looks a little scary, but it is this very act of embracing darkness that allows her to finally defeat it.

Ally Sheedy in The Breakfast Club – Considered by many to be the one major flaw in an otherwise fantastic movie,   Sheedy’s arty, black clad misfit is made over at the end of the film into a preppy, pretty-in-pink girl next door.  Pushing her hair back and cleaning off her makeup was meant to convey her character’s willingness to stop hiding who she really is, but giving her a lacy headband and a pink frilly top was a misstep that rang false.  “Why would Allison even own such a top?  What was wrong with the black sweater she had on?  What is that thing in her hair?”  are all commonly asked questions here, especially by girls that really related to the freaky girl with ‘all that black shit’ around her eyes, and by the guys that thought she was kind of hot that way.  There is even a Facebook group called “Allison’s Makeover At The End of the Breakfast Club is Bullshit”, and really, that pretty much sums it up for me.