The Best Makeover Movies to Kick Off 2016

This time of year, everyone is looking to re-invent themselves. Whether 2015 was a rough year for you, or even if it wasn't all that bad, we all look to the new year for a chance to be better than we were before. If you need a little inspiration, look to these 10 makeover movies to help kickstart whatever aspect of your life you'd like to focus on. 

The Professional Makeover
Working Girl

Been looking to move up at work, or land a great new job? Perhaps you can take a page from the Tess McGill playbook. When her boss tries to screw her over on a big project, Tess decides to go after the deal, man, and respect she deserves. For more inspiration in this realm, don't forget about Dustin Hoffman's gender-bending switcheroo film Tootsie or Sandra Bullock's tough-girl-with-a-heart comedy Miss Congeniality.
 
The "Get the Guy" Makeover
Sabrina

If you've got love on your mind, but can't seem to catch that special guy's eye, perhaps it's time for a trip to Paris to spice things up. Bonus points if you come back with a beautiful dress, chic haircut, and a new skill like cooking or photography depending on which version of Sabrina you go with. Speaking of a great makeover story with multiple versions, you can always check out the many tellings of Cinderella, because, really, who wouldn't love to have a lady with a wand show up to help you land a prince? The 2015 live-action version is really beautiful and certainly worth a look if you missed it. 

The "Get the Girl" Makeover
Crazy, Stupid, Love

If you need some help with the lady in your life, look no further than Crazy, Stupid, Love. When his wife admits she's having an affair, Steve Carrell is devastated and lost until womanizer Ryan Gosling comes along to give the greatest guy-helping-guy makeover in cinematic history. And even though everyone always remembers Sandy's big reveal at the end of the Grease, it's Danny who spends the most time actually trying to change himself for the girl he loves. While his friends are out doing typical T-Bird things, Danny letters in Track and still manages to win at Thunder Road. 

The Streets-to-Society Makeover
My Fair Lady

Just because you come from humble beginnings doesn't mean you can't get on in fancier settings; all you need is the right teacher. While Eliza Doolittle had Professor Higgins in My Fair Lady to teach her how to talk, walk, and dress, Julia Roberts gets some help from Hector Elizondo in Pretty Woman. Both women manage to convince everyone around them that they belong there, proving a little shopping trip on Rodeo Drive can be a powerful thing, indeed. 

The Life Lesson Makeover
The Devil Wears Prada

Then there are the makeover movies where the biggest lesson is that the character in question really didn't need a makeover after all. In The Devil Wears Prada, Andy Sachs definitely goes from frumpy to fabulous for her job at Runway, but as she alienates her friends and loved ones, she has to decide if her career is worth it after all. In Mean Girls, what starts as an experiment to see what she can learn about the Plastics turns into Lindsay Lohan becoming one herself. And let's not forget Tai's makeover in Clueless to catch Elton's eye when it's Travis she really liked all along.


The Sexy and I Know It Makeover
The Parent Trap

If you just know that deep down you've got a sexy side waiting to come out, make like Maureen O'Hara in The Parent Trap and let it out. In the film, she goes from stuffy Bostonian to knockout with a new hairstyle and wardrobe that takes years off her appearance. She may have done it to make her ex-husband jealous, but there's no denying she feels great about herself afterwards. And nobody wants to put Baby in the corner when she finally shakes off her little-sister shyness and unleashes some Dirty Dancing moves on the floor. 

The Nerdy-to-Cool Makeover
Can't Buy Me Love

Tired of being left out by the cool kids? Perhaps you can convince one of them to hang out with you for a while and tell people you're cool like Patrick Dempsey does in the '80s classic Can't Buy Me Love. Or there's the "new, not improved Laney Boggs" in She's All That if you need a good refresher on what was cool in the 1990s. From that same year, Drew Barrymore's turn from Josie Grossie to prom queen in Never Been Kissed is a great high school redemption film, especially if your makeover reasons involve an upcoming reunion. 

The Sporty Makeover
The Karate Kid

The number-one makeover this time of year is fitness related. Whether you want to lose some weight, eat healthier, or stand up to bullies like Daniel-son in The Karate Kid, it's probably time to hit the gym. You might not have a Mr. Miyagi around to guide you, but you can always find a different trainer. Or better yet, be like Rocky Balboa in Rocky III and train with a buddy. He's lucky enough to run up and down the beach with Apollo Creed, but perhaps you and your squad can come up with a montage scene that's just as awesome (doubtful). 

The "Doing It for the Fam" Makeover
Mrs. Doubtfire

Is there a more noble reason to reinvent yourself than to be a better person for your family? Hopefully you won't need to dress in drag and fool a bunch of people to be near your loved ones like Robin Williams famously did for Mrs. Doubtfire, but sometimes extreme measures are the only way. For the second Anne Hathaway makeover on this list, it's her grandmother's requested new look in The Princess Diaries that kicks off a new life for young Mia Thermopolis. 

The Badass Makeover
True Lies

If a warrior's heart is yearning to break free, why not unleash it on the world in 2016? When Jamie Lee Curtis is tried of being a boring housewife, she takes on a (fake) secret mission with the (secret) help of her husband. The scene where she goes from dowdy to dangerous in a hotel hallway should be just the inspiration you need. Then there's Demi Moore's military badass moves in G.I. Jane. She's bald, strong and ready to prove herself as the only woman in a Combined Reconnaissance Team where everyone expects her to fail.