It's every little girl's dream come true, and admit it, yours still to this day. You're living the poor life of a servant, when your fairy godmother comes along to magically turn your rags into a ball gown, slip on a pair of glass slippers and place a tiara on your head. No list of movie makeovers would be complete without this classic, agreed?
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Clueless
Probably the most popular makeover in the history of film -- or maybe it's just our favorite. Brittany Murphy plays Tai, the new, geeky and totally unfashionable student who is "toe-up" compared to Cher (Silverstone) and Dion (Dash). Where to begin? A makeover, of course, as "Cher's main thrill in life is a makeover. It gives her a sense of control in a world full of chaos." They take Tai from wearing boyish shirts and baggy jeans (along with that unnaturally bright red frizzy hair) to midriff tops, tasteful auburn curls, and a lot of blush. It's cinematic bubblegum at its finest.
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Princess Diaries
In this "real life" Cinderella story, Anne Hathaway is living a very ordinary life (complete with frizzy hair, thick glasses, and some seriously bushy eyebrows) when she is told she's actually a princess -- gasp! Well, actually hold your "ohhs" and "ahhs" because it isn't until she gets whisked away to a world of royalty, pretty dresses and a brand-new look when it really starts to get fun. Hathaway does have to undergo what looks like a painful (albeit humorous) makeover to get her glam style, but of course it ends up being worth it in the end. No pain, no gain Hathaway.
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Miss Congeniality
Sandra Bullock is a hardcore FBI agent who must go undercover as a beauty pageant contestant. The slow-mo scene where she walks out with her makeover team (and then totally trips and falls flat) is one of our favorites -- sad, but true. She already has a killer body, but her gorgeous makeup and hair really transform her tomboy image. Her makeover definitely helps her score the guy in the end, but did it help her learn to play the water glasses so eloquently (the better prize), well ... probably not.
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Devil Wears Prada
Again, Anne Hathaway plays the homely nerd in need of a brow tweeze in this "make yourself over for the job of every fashionista's dream" movie. Her character already has a pretty hot boyfriend, despite the frizzy hair and frumpy blue (er � cerulean) sweater, but boys aside, it isn't until she starts rocking stiletto boots, smoky eye makeup and smooth hair that her cruel boss starts to take her seriously. The devil apparently not only loves Prada, but a good makeover as well.
Cue the music. Hold your breath. Fight those tears. It's time -- time for the geek or the tough-girl or the under-privileged/secretly gorgeous duckling to swim as a swan. You know it's the best part of the movie. When the scullery maid gets transformed into a princess. When the tomboy FBI agent turns into a beauty pageant queen. When the nerd becomes the most popular girl in school. Despite being grown women, we all love a good movie makeover, don't we?
If you're anything like us, there is still undeniable excitement that bubbles up inside us as music gears up to speed, hair gets cut, blush gets applied and eyebrows get tweezed. Then, voila -- a striking, confident beauty is revealed to us walking down stairs, into a ballroom, out on the dance floor in slow motion, wind blowing. At this point we breathe a sigh of relief and smile in satisfaction.
Why are movie makeovers so secretly (or maybe not so secretly) fun to watch? Well, not to play psychologist and lay you down on the couch, but it comes down to loving all things self-improvement involved and seeing change for the better, right? Even the most straight-laced or serious-minded women like a little change now and then -- a new lipstick or an updated hairstyle. We all get a spring in our step after a salon visit. So naturally, we want to see the protagonist of a movie, who we identify with for a solid 90 minutes, transform and thus have her wildest dreams come true. Does chopping a bob or getting bangs change your life in the "real" world? No, probably not, but hey, this is Hollywood. So let's put all seriousness aside and have some fun reliving the best movie makeovers of all time.
