The Makedown

Anna Norton, the nasty star of screenwriter Daneshvari's unfortunate novel, was at the bottom of the social totem pole growing up. Fat, slovenly, covered in acne, she was constantly abused by her peers. As an adult, she escapes to New York and gets the Cinderella treatment from her emotionally abusive, control freak boss. With her brand-new beauty, she snags herself a hot boyfriend, but is paralyzed with fear that he will see her inner fatty and leave her. So she embarks on a secret campaign to transform Ben into a slovenly wreck. But it remains a mystery why Ben, or anyone else, would stick around. As Anna's shallow torment of the man she purports to love drags on, the watching-a-car-wreck pleasures rapidly diminish. It's like a really bad Mean Girls , executed without the insight or humor. (Feb.)