Hallmark Hall of Fame Movie Preview: The Makeover [VIDEO] 

Sunday night scheduling alert: ABC’s Once Upon a Time is a repeat and Revenge is preempted to make room for another Hallmark Hall of Fame movie presentation. Up to bat this time around is a delightful modern day Pygmalion-esque flick called The Makeover. In fact, the character names for the two leads: Hannah Higgins and Elliot Doolittle. Sound familiar?

The Makeover Synopsis: Hannah Higgins (Julia Stiles) is a smart, driven education consultant. She’s so driven, in fact, that she runs for Congress to advance the cause of education reform. But Hannah is not a likable candidate, as her elitism turns off Boston voters big-time. However she and her business partner, Colleen Pickering (Camryn Manheim), don’t give up easily, and in the next election they recruit a candidate who definitely is a man of the people, beer vendor Elliot Doolittle (David Walton).

Needless to say Hannah and Colonel Colleen Pickering take Elliot on as a project. Can they turn this blue collar worker into a viable candidate for Congress? The movie is also a study in opposites attract as the highly educated and uptight Hannah and the simple but uber-friendly Elliot end up spending a lot of time together. Will they ever manage to find common ground?

While the movie is fairly predictable, it doesn’t matter. The story is sweet and David Walton really shines in his role. Yeah, his Boston accent is laid on a bit thick, but he really gives a likable performance. It’s quite easy to fall in love with his character. Hallmark Hall of Fame’s The Makeover is definitely worth watching.

The Cast

Julia Stiles stars as Hannah Higgins: she’s of course known for starring on the big screen in Save the Last Dance, The Bourne trilogy (Matt Damon-style); and Silver Linings Playbook. Her TV credits include her stint in season 5 of Showtime’s Dexter.

David Walton stars as Elliot Doolittle: Most recently, Walton has been winning fans as Jess’ boyfriend on FOX’s New Girl. But you may also remember him from either his guest-star spot on ABC’s Happy Endings or from his short-lived series with Amanda Peet called Bent. He also starred in another short-lived comedy called Perfect Couples — his costars included Olivia Munn, with whom he was reunited recently on New Girl.

Camryn Manheim stars as Colleen Pickering: Manheim’s most famous for playing Ellenor Frutt on the late great David E. Kelley series The Practice. Manheim’s also popped up as a regular on Ghost Whisperer; was Elvis’ mother in a 2005 mini-series called Elvis; and has guest-starred on The L-Word, Hannah Montana and did several episodes of NBC’s Harry’s Law.

Frances Fisher stars as Elliott’s troublemaker mother, Allie Doolittle: Fisher is a veteran actor of the stage, movies and television. Her TV credits include guest starring on tons of shows like Becker, Titus, Eureka, The Shield, Sons of Anarchy and Torchwood: Miracle Day.

 Hallmark Hall of Fame’s The Makeover airs tonight at 9/8c on ABC.

EDITED TO ADD: Hallmark Hall of Fame’s The Makeover premieres on the Hallmark Channel tonight (February 2, 2013) @ 9/8c.

The Makeover Trailer

The Makeover Clip: Elliot Doolittle gets a makeover

The Makeover Clip: Hannah asks Elliot to run for office