Adrenaline Makeover: Difference between revisions

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Sometimes she's secretly, unknowingly, the [[Hot Librarian]], or a case of [[She's All Grown Up|late blooming gorgeous]]. Sometimes they're gorgeous but shy, or otherwise mild-mannered because they have to work twice as hard to be [[You Go, Girl!|thought of as half as good in a male-dominated field]]; and being sexy equals not being taken seriously; and [[No Guy Wants an Amazon|being aggressive is considered a negative trait for a female]]—at least, in this part of the story. Less frequently, she's a teenager going through this, which results in [[I Can't Believe a Guy Like You Would Notice Me]] at some point during the transformation.
 
The usual progression of the trope has the character starting out blinded to the world by their academic pursuits. She's in trouble that she needs assistance to get out of, resulting in a hero showing up and helping her through an epic adventure. The adventure distracts her from maintaining her frumpiness; the hero is there to rescue her, to help her de-frump, and to fall in love with her, making her realize as she returns his affections that if she'd just shaken out the hair and dumped the glasses before, she might have gotten a hot hero guy that much sooner.
 
By the end of the movie, she's come out of her shell, cast off her shyness, and come into her own in her own field. She [[Took a Level Inin Badass|takes a level in badass]], amps all the way up to [[Action Girl]], and [[In Harm's Way|joins the guy in his field]], and they become a [[Battle Couple]].
 
This often happens to make [[The Chick]] [[Hot Amazon|more palatable]] to men (and sometimes, [[Real Women Never Wear Dresses|"more exigent" females]]), and to [[Token Romance|add that romantic element]] so that [[Most Writers Are Male|action movies]] can also be [[Most Fanfic Writers Are Girls|date movies]]. The recipient of the Adrenaline Makeover is almost [[Always Female]], though a [[Non-Action Guy]] can occasionally also get a Makeover.
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Basically [[Fan Service Pack]] as [[Character Development]]. The opposite of [[Chickification]].
 
Subtrope of [[Took a Level Inin Badass]] (or of [[Xenafication]] when it's done without [[Character Development]]).
{{examples}}
 
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* After {{spoiler|she saves Athrun's life and ends up having to defect from ZAFT as a consequence}}, [[Bridge Bunnies|Meyrin]] [[Naive Everygirl|Hawke]] from ''[[Gundam Seed Destiny]]'' switches from a rather modest cadet uniform and [[Girlish Pigtails]] to a tighter jacket/pants combination and [[Expository Hairstyle Change|wearing her long hair loose]].
* Youko Nakajima from ''[[The Twelve Kingdoms]]'' is a more subdued version. She starts shy and mousy [[Joshikousei|in her dark grey school uniform]], becomes a [[Dark-Skinned Redhead]] [[Action Girl]] in Chinese clothing after being [[Trapped in Another World]], later is seen in regal clothing when crowned as the Queen of the Kei Kingdom (but switching to her traveler outfits whenever she leaves the palace).
* In ''[[UFO Robo Grendizer]]'', when the [[Yamato Nadeshiko]] Hikaru Makiba decides to [[Took a Level Inin Badass|toughen up]] and become an [[Action Girl]], her wardrobe changes from flowing dresses to miniskirts and boots.
** Inverted with Maria Grace Fleed. When we meet her, she wears skin-tight bodysuits; when she properly joins the cast, she keeps them as fighting clothes and begins wearing dresses and flowing skirts as civilian outfits.
* Subverted in ''[[Tantei Gakuen Q]]''. {{spoiler|Kuniko Tooya}} drastically changed her looks between a ''very'' traumatic incident and her arrival to Class A, but takes her ''much'' more than that to fully blossom. It doesn't hurt that in the process we discover she'd been a case of [[Beware the Nice Ones]] from the start...
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== Films -- Animation ==
* In ''[[The Incredibles]]'', there's no [[Love Interest]] involved, but it's fighting for her life and her family that causes [[I Just Want to Be Normal|Reluctant Hero]] Violet Parr to come out of her shell, learn a [[Power-Up|new power]], and quit hiding behind her hair. In the same movie, getting back in the hero game inspires her bored father Bob to slim down (and bulk up) and have more fun with his family.
** Incidentally, the guy at school Violet was pining after only notices her post-adventure. Slightly understandable, since before she only had the confidence to lurk behind the scenery staring at him.
* Arguably, ''[[Mulan]]'' is a somewhat reverse example of this, as in order to become a kickbutt swordswoman she has to hide her beauty, but that doesn't stop her from looking fantastic in the final battle with Shan-Yu.
* A male version of this happens in ''[[The Thief and the Cobbler]]'', combined with [[Clark Kent Outfit]].
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== Films -- Live-Action ==
* Chris in ''[[Adventures in Babysitting]]'' is played from a slightly different angle. She finds out during a night of running from gangbangers and criminals that her boyfriend is cheating on her because she won't put out. She gets everybody safely home, parents none the wiser, and gets a nicer, new, upgraded boyfriend when all is said and done—all ''without'' changing her look. Then again, she doesn't really ''need'' to change her look—a running gag/subplot of the film is the [[Identical Stranger]] who is the current Playmate of the Month, for whom she is repeatedly mistaken.
* ''[[Fantastic Four (film)|Fantastic Four]]'': Sue Storm, a.k.a. the Invisible Woman. She was acknowledged as extremely beautiful from the very beginning but she was the "hair in a bun, glasses on the face" science girl. Starting from the moment they get back to earth, she starts wearing the hair down and ditches the glasses. The movie progresses through her reconciling with Reed, and by the end of the movie they're an [[Adventure Duo]] plus two. By the sequel, she's [[Took a Level Inin Badass|way more skilled with her powers]] and takes no crap, even from Reed.
* The remake of ''[[The Hills Have Eyes]]'', when the nerdy pacifist protagonist shed a few layers of clothing, [[Took a Level Inin Badass|broke out the weaponry]], and stomped off to avenge his family and cause some serious mutant pain.
* The ''[[Indiana Jones]]'' movies avert this trope. All the women in Indy's life are spitfires. Yes, they still fall in love with him, but they don't go from frump to bombshell in the process.
** [[Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom|Willie Scott]] goes from bombshell to frump and back, but remains [[The Scrappy|thoroughly useless]] the entire time.
* ''[[The Mummy Trilogy|The Mummy 1999]]'': Evy is a dressed down [[Hot Librarian]] as the movie begins. She's prim, easily offended, and rather stiff, but brainy. But because she's the object of desire for the [[Card-Carrying Villain]], of course she has to be dressed up properly to be a [[Virgin Sacrifice]] (or the closest thing to it). Along comes Rick, and along the way they fall in love. By the end of the movie, she's completely calm about all the insanity she's encountered, and [[Rescue Romance|madly in love with her rescuer]]. By The Sequel, she's [[Took a Level Inin Badass|leveled up]], and she and Rick are a [[Battle Couple]], which carries over into the [[Animated Series]]. Not only that, but she is a [[Mama Bear]] as well.
* ''[[Romancing the Stone]]'': Joan Wilder is a mousy, reclusive romance novelist. But when she gets in over her head in Colombia, Jack T. Colton is there to help her out—for a price. Along the way, after he chops the heels off her shoes and tosses her suitcase full of sensible business suits into the jungle, they ride a mudslide, swing on vines, and do the sort of things she writes about in her novels. By the midpoint of the movie, her hair is down and she's dip-dancing in Jack's arms. By the end of the movie, she's no longer mousy or reclusive. By The Sequel, Joan's backslid a little and [[Mission Pack Sequel|goes through the transformation a second time]].
* ''[[The Saint]]'': Emma is a shy, nervous nuclear physicist who is brilliant enough to have invented Cold Fusion. She meets Simon in one of his aliases, and it's [[Love At First Sight]]. Once she gets over being astonished that a man like him would notice her, she's so worked up she has to take her heart medication before they go to bed. But he betrays her. Incensed, Emma throws off the meek mouse persona and tracks him down. Along the way, they're pursued by the Russian Mafia, and by the end of the movie, she can do a 100 yard dash, and doesn't need her pills anymore.
** In the original ending, she was going to die of heart problems, but test audiences didn't like it.
* ''[[The Terminator]]'': Sarah Connor is a simple young woman who has a waitress job at a family restaurant. By her own admission, she can't even balance her own checkbook. She's meek, and mild-mannered, but smart enough to know bad things are happening when people with her name start dying. Then Kyle shows up. Once she's done being scared to death of him, they fall in love, and by the time the movie ends, she's got the first few experience points toward [[Took a Level Inin Badass|taking her level in badass]]. By the time of The Sequel she's a full-fledged [[Mama Bear]] you don't want to mess with.
* Helen Tasker in ''[[True Lies]]''. The meek housewife ditches the glasses, the hairdo, and the frumpy clothes that concealed her incredible physique. By the final scene, she and hubby are apparently [[Battle Couple]].
* Arguably, Tristan in ''[[Stardust (film)|Stardust]]'' is a male example, as he gets a makeover in the mundane sense from the [[Camp Gay]] Captain Shakespeare at the same time he becomes a more competent and heroic character.
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[[Category:Personal Appearance Tropes]]
[[Category:Film Tropes]]
[[Category:Adrenaline Makeover{{PAGENAME}}]]
Retrieved from "https://allthetropes.org/wiki/Adrenaline_Makeover"