Television Reviews : The Before and After of ‘Perfect People’

With their last child about to leave the nest, the Caldwells (Perry King and Lauren Hutton) decide to devote some time to themselves, shaping up for a long-delayed European vacation. They begin a quest to become “Perfect People” (tonight at 9 on ABC Channels 7, 3, 10 and 42).

When diet and exercise don’t serve as “a magic wand,” the Caldwells turn to plastic surgery--which costs so much they can’t afford to go to Europe.

Not surprisingly, the Caldwells succeed primarily in demonstrating how imperfect these mortals be.

And, in the “before” section of this perverse “before and after” tale, the glamorous Hutton and King succeed in demonstrating how dowdy they can look, with the assistance of the right make-up.

In fact, the physical transformation is so extreme that it’s a little hard to believe. It might have been more credible to have cast truly middle-aged actors who were made up to look younger in the “after” part of the story.

Nevertheless, Greg Goodell’s script aims some well-deserved zingers at the cosmetic obsessions of the characters and their culture, and the cast and director Bruce Seth Green are good for a few hearty guffaws as well as a general level of light amusement.

Hutton not only changes her looks but also her sound, speaking in the throaty cadences of a Martha Raye. King literally bends over frontwards in his attempt to look haggard.

Karen Valentine, Dave Leisure, Priscilla Barnes, Ronnie Schell, June Lockhart and Cheryl Pollak shine in supporting roles.