Ricky Gervais called it like he saw it at last night’s Golden Globes (in more ways than one), congratulating all of Tinseltown on their plastic surgery. It was supposed to be a joke, but I admit I spent a good portion of the awards show forehead-watching, trying to figure out who was Botox-ed. It’s partly my own obsession with those lines (I’ve recently pulled out the Frownies), but I find it fascinating what the stars feel like they must do to their faces. There’s a lot of chemical peeling going on in that town, I can tell you!
The women I found refreshing? The wives of Hollywood biggies like Tom Hanks and John Lithgow, who actually look their age, albeit beautiful and happy. (I would love to talk about Ivan Reitman’s wife here but, seriously, I don’t know what to say.) Even the much-lauded James Cameron seemed like he was over-dosing on the glycolic, while his lovely spouse showed a grin full of life and a truly lovely face that looks like she has lived!
Speaking of sexy wrinkles, Helen Mirren is my idol, but Sophia Loren? I mean, she has an amazing body, but that forehead never moved an inch! And Cher? Yikes! I guess she has a really good surgeon. Go Glenn Close and others like her, for looking good but looking real.
Not everyone ages the same way, of course, so some of the smooth foreheads I spotted may be a result of truly good genes. Meryl Streep, for example, has to be some kind of freak of nature. There’s good care, too, since I’ve met at least one of LA’s top estheticians, and I know she knows her stuff.
But as I age, I have to remember that at a certain point, you look like you’re defying life when you try to beat the clock. A little (even a lot, if you can take it) of vitamin A is fine, but too shiny, too immobile, too plastic, and you just look ridiculous. If you want to be happy and be your prettiest, pay attention to how you spend your days as well as how you look, like Meryl. An amazing career, a remarkable life… these things show on your face. Why would you want them not to?
(Meryl Streep and Sandra Bullock photo from AFP)
