Ah, the classic Hollywood makeover. From Pretty Woman to The Princess Diaries, it has been a staple part of our movie diets for what feels like forever – and has long been held up as the purest distillation of film’s ability to transform; it is the easiest way for our protagonist to enjoy a cinematic rebirth, after all.

As Dr Julia Wagner tells BBC Culture: “Movie makeovers play out a wish fulfilment – that we can all, with just a little expertise, transform into a beautiful, confident creature.”

However, while we love an on-screen transformation (the clothes! The make-up! The renewed sense of self!), it is important to remember that not every movie makeover is made equal.

For every woman who finds a sense of empowerment through reclaiming and reinventing herself, there is another who is forced to conform to society’s narrow beauty standards in order to succeed. For every razor-sharp commentary on the ridiculous expectations we place upon women to look and act a certain way, there is a woman who simply removes her glasses and is deemed beautiful by all around her (here’s looking at you, She’s All That).

Here, then, are just a handful of the movie makeovers that absolutely nailed it – and a scattering of those that have aged incredibly poorly, too. And, just for fun, we’ve got a few confusingly ‘middle ground’ options, too.

Don’t say we never treat you.

The good: My Big Fat Greek Wedding

Let’s journey backwards through cinematic history to 2002, when My Big Fat Greek Wedding – written by and starring Nia Vardalos – first hit our screens. The star of this beloved romcom is Fotoula “Toula” Portokalos, a Greek American woman who falls in love with “a Xeno” (a non-Greek) named Ian Miller. And a Xeno with “big long hairs on top of his head” at that, too.

While much of the film is devoted to the culture clash between Toula and Ian’s families as they (spoiler but not really, look at the title of the film) plan their weddings, the beginning sees Toula undergo your classic movie transformation. Rather than change herself entirely in a cloud of hairspray and expensive make-up, though, we see her slowly overcome her natural timidity as she embarks on an adult learning course – and, as she finds herself reinvigorated by all she learns, learn to love and treasure herself, too.

Gone are the drab shapeless clothes and lifeless hair! Gone are the days of staring blankly out of the window, watching the world pass her by! Instead, Toula spends time pampering herself just a little each day – and figuring out exactly who she wants to be in the process.

We love to see it.

The bad: Grease

Ah c’mon, you knew Grease was going to land itself on the bottom of the pile, didn’t you? Olivia Newton John’s Sandy changes literally everything about herself solely to win over John Travolta’s Danny Zuko – and I don’t just mean her hair (which looks amazing), her make-up (the red lip!), and her clothes (that jumpsuit!). I’m talking about her entire personality. I’m talking about her sudden desire to smoke cigarettes. I’m talking about her purring the word ‘stud’ like she’s used it all her life, when we know the original Sandra Dee would never. 

And sure, Danny wore a letterman jacket for all of two minutes, but you can’t tell me that’s the same. You can’t.

The good: Freaky Friday

When Tess Coleman (Jamie Lee Curtis) undergoes a wild body swap with teenage daughter Anna (Lindsay Lohan), it’s not long before Anna decides to give her mum a makeover. And, scored by Lillix’s What I Like About You, it is an absolute joy to behold. This isn’t about a woman conforming – it’s about a woman refusing to conform! Ageist beauty and fashion standards be damned; Anna’s version of Tess wants to wear boho dresses, heeled boots, multiple piercings and a short punky pixie haircut. And the joy on her face when she’s done? It’s infectious.

The bad: The Princess Diaries

Look, I love The Princess Diaries as much as the next person, but a teenage girl being bullied into having her eyebrows plucked into submission and her hair straightened beyond recognition? Not cool. Even less cool? When her stylist snaps her glasses in half (those are EXPENSIVE, dude!) and informs her that she will be wearing contact lenses henceforth if she wishes to be a worthy princess.

I’m not here to berate Anne Hathaway’s Mia the way her BFF Lilly (Heather Matarazzo) does, because a woman should be allowed to dress up and have fun with her appearance… if she wants to. But I’m just not so sure that she wants to.

The good: The Devil Wears Prada

Hey, Anne Hathaway is back – but this time with a movie makeover worth celebrating, because Andy Sachs actually goes to Stanley Tucci’s Nigel and asks him to help her. She gets to play dress up in some of the world’s most iconic fashion labels… for free, because these are all discarded sample sizes that the fictional Runway magazine has used on previous shoots.

Essentially, Andy is doing all of this for her career; she wants to learn more about the industry she’s unexpectedly become a part of, and wants to prove to her megalomaniac boss that she respects it, too. 

In the process, she finds herself falling in love with fashion, and she simply oozes confidence when she walks into work wearing the Chanel boots. 10 out of 10!

The bad: The Breakfast Club

Biggest movie disappointment ever? When “basket case” Allison Reynolds (Ally Sheedy) gets a “makeover” from preppy Claire (Molly Ringwald) and loses every single trace of everything that makes her unique in the process. 

Branding the scene as “uncomfortable” in an interview with Page Six, Sheedy insists that the messaging of this makeover is all wrong: that Allison should learn true beauty comes from within, not from a frilly dress and a bow.

As she puts it: “Allison is much more delicious before the hair bow goes on.” 

Amen to that!

The good: Last Holiday

When shy and unassuming Georgia Byrd (Queen Latifah) is given a terminal cancer diagnosis, she decides to give her entire life a bit of TLC and jets off on a dream vacation at the deluxe Grandhotel Pupp in the Czech Republic. Cue the designer fashion makeover of dreams, an introduction to the wonderful world of spa treatments, a big boost in self-confidence and a newfound outlook on life, love, and death – all served up with a dose of sunny optimism.

The confusing middle ground: Clueless

When Alicia Silverstone’s Cher decides to take Brittany Murphy’s Tai under her wing in Clueless, we get a classic movie makeover: a new hairstyle, new make-up, new outfit – all so that Tai is granted permission to sit with Cher and Dionne at the top of the social hierarchy. The result? Well, Tai becomes a vapid and shallow monster, prompting Cher to realise that she was the one who “needed a complete makeover” after all.

“Except this time I’d makeover my soul,” she adds. 

At least a lesson is learned, we suppose.

The bad: She’s All That

This makeover scene is all about the male gaze, because it’s done for the benefit of Freddie Prinze Jr’s Zack Siler. And all they really do to Laney Boggs is change her hairstyle, pluck her eyebrows, steal her glasses and stick her in a dress and heels – prompting actor Rachael Leigh Cook to brand it “problematic” all these years later.

“I don’t know why I feel so socially responsible for the film,” Cook recently told Bustle, explaining that she doesn’t want young girls like her daughter to think they have to bend to certain beauty ideals.

“That I’m part of that messaging is not the best.”

The good: Cruella

Emma Stone’s Estella creates her alter-ego, Cruella, in order to steal back her late mother’s necklace from Emma Thompson’s Baroness von Hellman. The outrageous fashion transformation, though? That’s a passion project.

Estella is an artist, a dreamer and a visionary – and the film uses these big extravagant moments to underline her talents as a designer. What’s not to love about that?

The confusing middle ground: Pretty Woman

Is there any movie moment greater than when Julia Roberts makes her triumphant return to the store where she was refused service? “Big mistake,” she tells them. “Big. Huge.” 

So yes, her transformation from brassy sex worker to elegant socialite might have been done entirely for the benefit of her wealthy client (played to perfection by Richard Gere), but it also empowers her to stick up for herself – not to mention expect and demand more for herself going forward. 

Plus, she looks and feels fabulous, and that’s always a good thing, we suppose…

The bad: Miss Congeniality

I hear you: why is this on the bad list? After all, Sandra Bullock’s FBI agent undergoes one of the most intense makeover montages ever – and, yes, it features many cliches along the way (ponytail off, glasses gone, donut swapped for a celery stick) –but it does so to make a point about the intense world of beauty pageantry. She does it because it’s her job. She’s literally going undercover as a Miss United States contestant. And, be honest, who doesn’t want to walk out of an air hanger in slo-mo? With a fan blowing your hair perfectly out of your face? With Mustang Sally blaring out in the background? Exactly.

So what gives? Well, there’s a big power imbalance at play here, and Gracie’s makeover is placed entirely in the hands of two men – neither of whom show her a single modicum of respect until she gets beautified. And that, friends, is all bad.

The good: Moonstruck

Unlike so many other movie makeover subjects, Cher’s Loretta Castorini undergoes her transformation alone and of her own volition. There was absolutely nothing wrong with her downplayed beauty of before; far from it, actually. She just… she just falls in love and fancies doing something new with her hair, as one does. She buys herself a lovely dress, too. Then she goes home to apply some make-up and get ready for her date at the opera – slowly, reverently.

In doing so, Loretta shakes herself free of the routine that has defined her life so far, so is it any wonder that she spends such a long time admiring her newfound sense of self? Her beauty is all for her; her transformation serves to remind her of all the potential and possibility brimming inside of her. And we, the audience, love to see it!

The confusing middle ground: Maid In Manhattan

A working-class woman choosing to have a makeover? And not turning her back on her old friends and life and personality as a result? Wonderful. Although, admittedly, JLo still looks fabulous, even when she’s wearing her hair in a pony and has donned a grey hotel maid’s uniform.

The bad: Enchanted

Amy Adams’s Giselle is a wide-eyed princess who loves nothing more than to wear a big dress, big hair, big everything. Her fashion sense is an extension of her inner romantic; she dreams of nothing more than being a true Disney princess. And, while we love this film to little pieces, there’s something a little off about her movie makeover. Because, while she has fun doing it, it strips our girl of all the little quirks and eccentricities that make her… well, her. 

Giselle might have grown up and all, but she looks just like any other New Yorker might at a city ball. And that, in our eyes, doesn’t seem to channel the film’s message of “be your own hero” at all.

The good: The Hunger Games

Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) changes her appearance for the sake of the brutal Hunger Games; she allows herself to be dressed up and beautified in the hopes of winning favour in the Capitol, because she knows all too well that those who conform to their idealised beauty standards are far more likely to survive the bloody battle they’re being forced into.

 It’s not done for the benefit of a man, but as a desperate attempt at self-preservation. So, yeah, this is a brilliantly self-aware movie makeover… with more than a little bite.

The confusing middle-ground: Cinderella

Yes, Brandy’s Cinderella needs a makeover to get into the royal ball (where she hopes to reconnect with her royal beau), but this one is very different to the other Cinderella films. For one thing, we don’t spend ages lingering on the physical transformation; instead, the time is dedicated to Whitney Houston’s fairy godmother informing our young heroine that “it’s possible”. That she can be whoever she wants to be. That women, and Black women in particular, can live their dream lives, if only they believe in themselves. 

So, yes, this is a makeover that’s focused far more on the internal messaging and the positive outlook on life that can come hand-in-hand with a new dress and a new ’do… and, even if that has been done for the benefit of a prince, it definitely feels far more good than bad.

The bad: My Fair Lady

Speaking of bad, Audrey Hepburn’s Eliza Doolittle is plucked off the streets and transformed into a refined lady for the sake of a bet, so you better believe we’re not into it – even if she does get a good hat out of it. 

As the aforementioned Dr Wagner explains to BBC Culture, this film sees a powerless woman “physically manipulated by the powerful characters”.

The ostensible aim, she adds, is “the made-over person’s sexual and social empowerment, but it is of benefit to the (initially) more powerful character”. 

Come the end of the film, Eliza is but a shadow of her former self; she looks and sounds like a lady, but she has lost all of her gumption and tenacity.

Worse still? She relegates herself to a life of fetching a thankless man’s slippers for him. Every night. Forever.

We hate it.

Images: Getty/Rex Features