Mike and Matt, 20-year-old twins, wanted to look like Brad Pitt; 19-year-old Sha wanted to resemble Pamela Anderson; and Michael, a 23-year-old pre-op transsexual from Chicago, longed to look like J.Lo.
Instead of opting for a new hairstyle or wardrobe, they went under the knife.
And MTV was there to document it all.
The channel’s six-part reality series “I Want a Famous Face” chronicles fans of celebs undergoing plastic surgery to look more like their idols.
Procedures shown include facial and breast implants, gastric-bypass surgery and even transsexual hormone therapy.
New York plastic surgeon Dr. Bruce Nadler calls the show a “gimmick.” Nadler previously worked with MTV on its series “True Life,” giving a young man calf implants on camera. But the surgeon says: “Most people who want to look like celebrities are doomed to failure. Someone who is really fixated on looking like their idol [is at risk of] body dysmorphic syndrome, where the external appearance is blown totally out of proportion.”
Marshall Eisen, MTV’s supervising producer for news and documentaries, said the show is honest.
“We show what’s involved–how tense the surgeries are, the risks involved, how difficult the recovery process is. It’s not sanitized or glamorized in any way.”
According to MTV, the subjects of the series decided on their own to get surgery and then MTV asked to chronicle their journey. MTV did not pay for the surgeries.
Monday’s episode, at 9:30 p.m. on MTV, features 21-year-old Jennette, who, after undergoing gastric-bypass surgery, decided it was time to have a body lift to make her look more like Kate Winslet. The first episode showcased twin brothers Matt and Mike Schlepp, 21, who wanted to look like Brad Pitt because they believe it will get them acting jobs and girls.
After spending more than $20,000 on their surgeries, however, the brothers told MTV they have not been swarmed by strangers walking down the street.
“I haven’t been mistaken for Brad Pitt, but it wasn’t his face I wanted, it was his strong bone structure,” Matt said.
Sadly, postsurgery, Mike’s crush, Monica, says: “Just because his looks change, doesn’t mean I’m going to change my feelings about him.”
