Color Me Perfect
((Tues.(5), 8-10 p.m., Lifetime))
Filmed in Vancouver, B.C., by Michele Lee Prods. in association with Hearst Entertainment. Executive producer, director, Michele Lee; producer, Clara George; line producer, David Shepherd; writers, Lee, Mueller; camera, Laszlo George; editor, Thomas Petersen; production designer, Andrew Wilson; art director, Catherine Quinn; music, Nan Schwatz Mishkin; sound, William Butler; casting, Penny Ellers, Stuart Aikins. Cast: Michele Lee, Susan Blakely, Robin Thomas, Stan Cahill, Nathanial Deveaux, Hiromoto Ida, Joy Coghill, Katie Stuart, Ecstasia Sanders, Jorge Vargas, Chris Lovick, Chris Humphreys, Brian Arnold, Joanna Piros, Claire Riley, Kevin Hayes, David Lewis. Subjected to scientific experimentation, mentally retarded woman becomes an I.Q.-172 genius. "Color Me Perfect" was exec produced, co-written and directed by its star, Michele Lee. While its story with elements of everything from "Frankenstein" to "Charly" to "Phenomenon" seems a bit fuzzy, veering away from either the horrific aspects of story or a strong examination of the morality of such genetic experimentation, the vidpic earns high placement in her resume. Researchers Mitch Conlon and Linda Ryan (Robin Thomas; Susan Blakely) have raised intelligence levels of a pair of chimps, and would like to accomplish the same with a human in time for a big scientific confab scheduled to take place at the Conlon Institute. Their choice is Dina Blake (Lee), a woman who divides her time between playing with kids at a nearby park and working in a snack shop run by her nephew and guardian , Andy (Stan Cahill). Conlon and Ryan are immediately identified as in it for the money and glory; they're being picketed by a group who accuse them of playing God. "We can't be concerned with what other people think," vows Ryan. "We're scientists." It's a wonder they aren't being picketed by scientists. Andy doesn't want them experimenting on his aunt ("Theysay they can make you better, but God made you the way you are"), but Dina wants to improve herself at least to the point of learning to read. By the time of the big science shindig, Dina is quoting "Hamlet" (not realizing the irony of Polonius' speech, evidently), and arcane scientific journals, painting like Van Gogh and composing like Beethoven. She's smart, but not original. Things go awry. First, Dina develops a crush not entirely unreciprocated on Conlon, which Ryan, his longtime paramour, doesn't appreciate ("Dina, Dina that's all you ever talk about anymore," she says, sounding more like Jan Brady than a prominent biochemist. "I've seen you look at her in ways I've only dreamt about"). And then, the chimpanzees begin behaving well, like a couple of monkeys. The whole thing is resolved to everybody's satisfaction; taken off her Smart Serum, Dina regresses mentally, but retains her newfound ability to read. And the scientists learn a Great Lesson: "The progress that man has made in research has unleashed an awesome power. If he chooses to play God, then he must have his conscience." That's the presumed point of all this, but mainly "Color Me Perfect" serves as a vehicle for Lee. She plays the retarded Dina as somewhere between Annie Hall and Lily Tomlin's "Edith Ann," but becomes less gimmicky as Dina's intelligence increases. Conlon and Ryan, on the other hand, remain caricatures throughout if Blakely had a mustache, she'd be twirling it from time to time. Likewise, the protesters serve only a slightly more important role here than the park's foliage. Granted that Lifetime isn't PBS, or even the Learning Channel, but the moral question could have been strengthened if Lee chose not to make Dina a real Frankenstein's Creature. That reluctance can be forgiven after all, Lifetime isn't the Sci-Fi Channel, either. Todd Everett Color Me Perfect
