Make Me Young: Youth Knows No Pain

This HBO documentary exploring the subject of plastic surgery bears the subtitle “Youth Knows No Pain”—but “Vanity Knows No Price” would also suffice. After spending $35,000 on surgical procedures, 53-year-old Sherry says she feels “born again,” while her husband couldn't be happier. Make Me Young's 38-year-old director Mitch McCabe is hardly a disinterested observer, since her father was a prominent plastic surgeon in Detroit (the filmmaker has considered going under the knife herself but spends lavishly on skin creams instead). Because Dr. McCabe is deceased, his words and images are injected—so to speak—via home movies, family photographs, and slides from his collection. McCabe captures Botox and hair-transplant sessions, and speaks with fashion and skincare experts, such as Barneys New York creative director Simon Doonan, Allergan Medical head Robert Grant (Allergan manufactures Botox), cosmeceuticals king Dr. Nicholas Perricone, and Allure editor Linda Wells. Mostly, however, McCabe interviews people across America, who talk about their age and appearance, such as 20-year-old Stacy, who describes 28 as “old,” and 53-year-old Norman, who's spent more than $50,000 to transform himself into a Jack Nicholson lookalike. Sadly, the healthy-looking McCabe receives plenty of unsolicited advice from her subjects, including Norman, who says she's “let herself go.” In the end, McCabe does try a few “injectables,” which may disappoint those expecting objectivity (but as she notes in a featurette, “This wasn't going to be a journalistic piece.”). Other DVD extras include audio commentary, deleted scenes, and extended interviews. A provocative and entertaining look at the anti-aging movement, this is recommended. Aud: C, P. (K. Fennessy)