HBO probes plastic surgery disasters

By Randee Dawn

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - For years, airbrushed magazine photos and
such TV shows as ABC's "Extreme Makeover" and Fox's "The Swan" have turned
remaking yourself into an attainable magic brought with the flick of a
scalpel or the brush of a suction hose. Reality, however, tends to intrude,
as HBO's hour-long documentary "Plastic Disasters" points out in graphic

Nobody...

detail.

Intercutting the stories of three unfortunates who wanted relatively minor
tweaks (a face-lift, liposuction and a nose job) "Disasters" leads viewers
through nightmares of ruinous results beyond anyone's imagination. The tone
is blunt and frank but not exploitative: One woman, best thought of as a
survivor rather than a beneficiary, volunteers her shark attack-like scars
to the camera.

"Disasters" is not dinnertime viewing; surgery scenes are gory and frequent.
But they are worth acknowledging even with averted eye, to convey the
message that plastic surgery is surgery -- with no promises of results or
guarantee of repair of mistakes. As one patient notes toward the end,
"Looking back on it, that little bump on my nose wasn't really such a bump
at all." "Disasters" is a vividly cautionary tale that should be required
viewing for anyone contemplating voluntary plastic surgery today.

ANIM8Rfsk...