Sometimes when siblings work together on a project, it harms their personal relationship. Not true for Lynne and Brooke Adams, sisters appearing together in Made-Up, a very funny comedy directed by Tony Shalhoub, who just happens to be Brooke's real-life husband and Lynne's brother-in-law.

"It was fantastic working with Lynne," Brooke declares. "We have a lot of respect for each other and have always been very close. The only disadvantage for me was that I care so much about her it put an extra sort of burden on me. I wanted it to turn out well for her." Lynne does much more than co-star in the film. She also served as producer and wrote the script based on her one-woman show Two-Faced -- so she has a lot of emotional investment in Made-Up. Brooke was involved in the theater version, too. She directed it, and Lynne played the role Brooke has in the movie.

"We had such a good time with Made-Up, I can't think of any disadvantages working with Brooke," Lynne states. "I wish I could. It would make things more interesting! Of course, we fought and argued while we were growing up. But we've always been so supportive of each other. Like the sisters in the film, there are times when Brooke's been successful and doing well and I've been really struggling and vice versa." Lynne recalled her successful 10-year stint playing Leslie Bauer on daytime TV's "The Guiding Light" as one of the periods when she was helpful to Brooke, who was just breaking into acting then. "Brooke's truly a good person. She's very kind, true to herself, a great mom -- and she's very talented -- an incredible painter, writer, and actress."

Although Brooke previously starred in such movies as Days of Heaven and Cuba, she doesn't do much acting lately. "It's so hard for a woman over 40 to get roles," she points out. That's probably one reason she enjoyed doing Made-Up. The other? "Lynne is such a creative, intelligent writer. She'll write something and it becomes my life. And I'm so grateful to her for this film. It was her gift to me. She wanted to showcase my versatility. She knew I could do cartwheels; she knew I could play a drunk; so she wrote these things into the script. It was quite liberating!"

It's obvious that Lynne and Brooke love to do things as a family. Their  parents, who died within one year of each other, were also in show business. Their father was a producer and their mother an actress. "Our father emphasized the importance of family," Brooke explains. "So now we always ask ourselves, how would Pop like this -- how would Mom like this?"

Because Made-Up tells the story of a middle-aged mom (Brooke) who agrees to a "make-over" by her wannabe cosmetologist daughter, then lets her sister (Lynne) videotape the process as a documentary, casting the right person for the role of the daughter became crucial to the film's success. Lynne says, "Eva (Amurri) was absolutely great, just delightful. She's funny, mature, down-to-earth -- not a spoiled stage brat. Eva was only 15 when we were working on the film, so she and her mom (Susan Sarandon) shared a B&B during filming."

Brooke thought about Eva for the part after running into her while shopping in New York. "Susan and I have been friends for years, but I hadn't seen Eva in a long time. She looked gorgeous, and I realized she was perfect for the role."   

Although yet to be released nationally, Made-Up continues to earn praise from film festival viewers and critics alike. "It's fascinating to me how much men as well as women love our movie," declares Lynne. That's no surprise to me. My  husband raves about this hilarious film to anyone who will listen.

Would Mom and Pop Adams love Made-Up, too? Absolutely.

(Photo by Claire Folger. Read Betty Jo's interview with Tony Shalhoub.)