In everyday life, cosmetic surgery is an easy cure for pudginess, blemishes and minor physical niggles that otherwise trouble us; but in fiction, it is even more important! While science fiction can rely on alternative dimensions, mutations, spells and reincarnations to justify severe physical changes, but stories set in the “real world” can only rely plastic surgery to fill up a few plot-holes.
On film and television, the most obvious use of plastic surgery is to get away with introducing a new actor into an established role. For example, the actor behind the titular ‘Stepfather’ series of slasher movies, Terry O’Quinn, decided not to reprise the role in the third film of the franchise. His replacement, Robert Wightman, gets ‘explained’ by a brief back-alley (anaesthetic free!) face modification surgery. Similarly, in the sitcom ‘Allo Allo’ the actor playing Herr Flick switched from Richard Gibson to David Janson in Series 9. The excuse used was that Flick needed intensive surgery to avoid detection from the Allied Forces
In low budget films, it can even be used as a cost-saving device. ‘Captain America’ (1990), based on the comic series, still fights against his main opponent the villain Red Skull. Born Joseph Schmidt, he is traditionally depicted with, unsurprisingly, a grotesque red skull, caused by wearing a mysterious mask given to him by Adolf Hitler. But, to avoid the make-up costs, he receives a skin-graft very early in the film’s running time, leaving only a few occasional glimpses, serving mostly to make the trailer look slightly less disappointing.
In other situations it is simply used for its humorous potential – comedy is driven by the upheaval of the established order, so when the seemingly fixed attribute of human identity suddenly becomes fluid, hilarity frequently ensues. Often this involves a satire of the very practice of plastic surgery itself. ‘Arsenic and Old Lace’ offers a light-hearted spoof of the old idea that cosmetic operations were only required by criminals who desperately needed a change of identity, directly referencing Joseph Moran who worked in that capacity for the Ma Barker gang. In the film (and the play that provided its source), the intended goal of turning into an inconspicuous-looking harmless regular Joe backfires as the surgeon makes him look like menacing horror actor Boris Karloff (who actually played the part in the Broadway version!)
In some cases, this is less a parody of actual plastic surgery but more the ridiculousness of the conventions talked about in this article. ‘Soap Dish’ (1991) lampoons the absurd medical miracles performed on the operation table when the network executive in charge proposes bringing a decapitated character back to life in a “groundbreaking” 16 hour procedure.”
Despite being an easy target for mockery, cosmetic surgery does have plenty of value outside the realms of motion pictures. But it is still lot more fun to watch on the big-screen.
