`LIPSTICK' MAKES THE FEAR BEARABLE.Byline: David Kronke Television Critic `Why I Wore Lipstick to My Mastectomy'' is a pointedly, cheekily and, above all, entertainingly heartfelt rallying cry Noun 1. rallying cry - a slogan used to rally support for a cause; "a cry to arms"; "our watchword will be `democracy'" war cry, watchword, battle cry, cry catchword, motto, shibboleth, slogan - a favorite saying of a sect or political group 2. for all women who have ever feared the specter of breast cancer. It ensures in cheerily emphatic, empowering terms that a mastectomy mastectomy (măstĕk`təmē), surgical removal of breast tissue, usually done as treatment for breast cancer. There are many types of mastectomy. In general, the farther the cancer has spread, the more tissue is taken. absolutely does not rob a patient of her femininity or allure. Based on a memoir by Geralyn Lucas (who now works at Lifetime, which produced the film), ``Lipstick'' stars Sarah Chalke of ``Scrubs'' as a young professional who has it all -- great job, great husband, great family and friends -- until she discovers she has breast cancer at an age considered abnormally young for the malady malady /mal·a·dy/ (-ah-de) disease. mal·a·dy n. A disease, disorder, or ailment. malady a disease or illness. . Her supportive circle rallies around her, and her own intuitive strength allows her to research the disease -- she visits ``the Prada of doctors'' -- and figure out what she needs to do to combat her cancer. There are the requisite bumps along the way, but Geralyn survives her ordeal with immense cheeky humor. Chalke's performance is consummately witty, which won't surprise fans of ``Scrubs,'' but it's also resonantly moving. At times, the film is a little foursquare in its self-help-iness -- when Geralyn shops for a wig in the wake of her chemotherapy, she encounters a drag queen drag queen Female impersonator, gynemimetic Sexology A ♂ with ♀ affect–often 'overplayed'; a ♂ homosexual and ♀ wannabe, with ♂ genitalia; DQs may take hormones to ↑ breasts, and thus are hormonally, but not surgically who, pointing to his heart, earnestly intones, ``It's what's in here that counts.'' But then, that's what the film's most crucial audience needs to hear, and it underscores the film's big-heartedness. ``Why I Wore Lipstick'' is mildly bawdy bawd·y adj. bawd·i·er, bawd·i·est 1. Humorously coarse; risqué. 2. Vulgar; lewd. bawd  i·ly adv. and slightly politically incorrect, yet a welcome, funny corrective for those who might stigmatize stig·ma·tize tr.v. stig·ma·tized, stig·ma·tiz·ing, stig·ma·tiz·es 1. To characterize or brand as disgraceful or ignominious. 2. To mark with stigmata or a stigma. 3. themselves when a mammogram mammogram /mam·mo·gram/ (mam´o-gram) a radiograph of the breast. mam·mo·gram n. An x-ray image of the breast produced by mammography. comes back with an unhappy result. A happy ending is still possible. David Kronke, (818) 713-3638 david.kronke@dailynews.com WHY I WORE LIPSTICK TO MY MASTECTOMY - Three stars What: Sarah Chalke stars in a docudrama based on Geralyn Lucas' memoir. Where: Lifetime. When: 9 tonight. In a nutshell: A feel-good film about breast cancer? Well, actually, yes. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Sarah Chalke plays a young woman who learns she has breast cancer in ``Why I Wore Lipstick to My Mastectomy.'' |
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