Varied plots make one good movie
Confusing, yet hilarious, caricature of reality TV makes its Northwest debut in Spokane theater

Dan Webster
Staff writer

Farce isn't an easy thing to pull off. That's especially true when the farce in question attempts to be a cultural commentary as well.

Case in point: "Made-Up," the first film directed by noted actor Tony Shalhoub. Written and produced by Lynne Adams, and starring her sister Brooke Adams (Shalhoub's wife), "Made-Up" has several plotlines going at once. Yet that very jumble is part of what makes the film, at moments, so hilarious.

"Made-Up" is, primarily, the story of Elizabeth (Adams), a middle-aged woman who has let herself age naturally (and, truth be told, gracefully). Yet gray hair and few extra pounds are, apparently, enough of a reason for her husband Duncan (Gary Sinise) to leave her for the young blonde, Molly (Light Eternity ... and, yes, that's her real name).

Enter Kate (Lynne Adams), Elizabeth's sister. A student filmmaker, Kate wants to make Elizabeth the subject of a documentary. When Elizabeth's daughter Sara (Eva Amurri) convinces her mother to get a makeover, Kate believes that she's found her movie.

But that's just one plot path that "Made-Up" follows. There's the issue of ex-actress Elizabeth, now an artist, being horrified that Sara would spurn college to become a "cosmetologist" (which, to her, means hairdresser). Caught up in her disapproval, Elizabeth is forced to watch as the ingratiating Molly becomes Sara's muse.

And then there's the romance: After allowing herself to become Sara's project, Elizabeth attracts the attention of restaurant owner Max (Shalhoub), who she believes is interested only in her reinvented self. She tries to play both characters as "sisters," and Max -- caught between being the potential boyfriend and trying to play a part in Kate's movie -- begins to think that Elizabeth has a personality disorder.

As all this is happening, Kate's film project proceeds. The conceit of Lynne Adams' script is that everything plays out as a film of a film, complete with outtakes. The crew members squabble, the protagonists argue, and most of them address their feelings to the camera.

And gradually it becomes clear: As camera after camera is added to the mix, as Kate anguishes over what her film is supposed to be, as each character explains her or his reaction to events that we have just seen, "Made-Up" almost seamlessly becomes a caricature of reality television.

Imagine the cameras of MTV's "Real World," "Big Brother," "Survivor," "Who Wants to Marry My Dad?" (or mom) with a bit of "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" thrown in, and you have "Made-Up."

It's all pretty overwhelming. And in other hands, "Made-Up" might have sunk under the weight of its several story lines, its ensemble of characters and the battling emotions of virtually everyone involved. But director Shalhoub, the veteran stage, film and television ("Monk") actor, ends up being a calming presence.

His Max is the one whose reactions best mirror those of us who are trying to figure out who is who, what is what.

As "Made-Up" explores the lives and conflicting emotions of each of the principal woman characters, Shalhoub the director keeps the film on line, balancing its tone between the extremes of ridiculous chaos and maudlin facileness.

The acting helps. Shalhoub does his usual great job, while Lynne Adams has good chemistry with her real-life sister. As Sara, Amurri ("The Banger Sisters") proves that she is more than just Susan Sarandon's daughter and is an actress with a quirky talent all her own.

But the film's highlight is Brooke Adams ("Gas Food Lodging"). Married to Shalhoub in 1992, she's worked only sporadically since then. Gone too long from the big screen, she manages to imbue Elizabeth with a personality that is neither too solid nor altogether pathetic.

Quite capable of facing life on her own, Elizabeth is still insecure enough to think that some cosmetics and new clothing would make her look "fantastic." In Adams' hands, Elizabeth reacts as a real person would, calm one moment, frenzied the next.

Would Duncan have left Elizabeth had she undergone the makeover earlier? It's not clear, even if Sara thinks so. But that's not the point of "Made-Up" anyway.

The real question is this: Do we, as a culture, like to watch?

And the survey says ... you bet your big-screen TV we do.