Hell on Heels: The Battle of Mary Kay is a 2002 biographical comedy-drama television film directed by Ed Gernon (in his directorial debut) and written by Patricia Resnick. It stars Shirley MacLaine, Shannen Doherty, and Parker Posey. The film is based on the true story of a corporate war in the mid-1990s between cosmetics queen Mary Kay Ash and an ambitious newcomer, Jinger Heath, who launches a rival company. A co-production between Canada and the United States, the film premiered on CBS on October 6, 2002. Both MacLaine and Posey received Golden Globe nominations for their performances, with MacLaine saying the role of Mary Kay was one of her favorite characters.

Summary

Cosmetics queen Mary Kay relates her rise to the top of the home-beauty industry to an inquiring reporter, never allowing an opportunity pass to emphasize how many doors she has opened for the working women of America. Ultimately, however, Mary Kay's predominance is threatened by a much younger rival, Jinger Heath, whose BeautiControl company takes an enormous bite out of Mary Kay's share of the market. Caught in the middle is a slightly off-center beauty named Lexy Wilcox.

Cast

Production

Patricia Resnick wrote the script and Alliance Atlantis executive Ed Gernon made his directorial debut on the film, which was co-produced with Howard Meltzer's TurtleBack Productions and Alliance Atlantis' Ian McDougall. Principal photography took place in Winnipeg from July 3 to 28, 2002.

Reception

Accolades