Dina Blake (Lee) is a mentally disabled woman who lives with her nephew Andy (Stan Cahill) and works at his coffee stand in a park. When two married scientists, Mitch Conlon (Robin Thomas) and Linda Ryan (Susan Blakely) offer to make her the test subject for an experimental gene therapy, she agrees, and moves in with them so they can monitor her and control her environment. The formula slowly increases her IQ from the 50s to 172, and Dina struggles to adjust to her newfound intelligence.
Color Me Perfect contains examples of:
- AM/FM Characterization: Mitch and Linda, who are rich and somewhat snobby, always have classical music playing during dinner.
- Dramatic Drop: Early in her treatment, Dina overhears Mitch and Linda talking about how if she doesn't show signs of improvement soon, they'll have to pick another test subject. Dina is so dismayed that she drops the computer that's being used to test her intelligence.
- Fainting: Dina faints after giving a speech at a fundraiser due to withdrawal from being taken off the formula.
- "Flowers for Algernon" Syndrome: The formula makes both Dina and the chimps meaner and more aggressive, causing Linda to take them off it without telling either her or Mitch. Dina's intelligence decreases to normal level, rather than her previous level of disability.
- Foreign Cuss Word: Dina learns French from a tape. When the cassette player starts acting up, she mutters, "Merde."
- Friend to All Children: Dina is highly popular with the kids who visit the park due to her childlike personality, imagination, and storytelling skill. After she becomes a genius, she becomes much stricter and less friendly with the children. Once she goes off the formula, she seems to have gotten her old fondness for kids back, judging by her new job as special ed teacher.
- Lightbulb Joke: Dina's teacher, Elisha Swan (Nathaniel DeVeaux) tells one at a party.Q: How many scientists does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
A: One to screw in the bulb, one to write the report, and two to apply for the grant. - Never Learned to Read: Dina never had any formal education. Her main reason for signing up for the therapy is that Mitch promises she will be taught to read.
- Shout-Out: The two chimps the gene therapy was tested on are named Laverne & Shirley.
- Tantrum Throwing: A side effect of the formula is increased irritability. One night the chimps go berserk and ransack the lab, throwing things around. Later, Dina angrily throws her malfunctioning cassette player to the ground, breaking it.
- Uplifted Animal: The gene therapy was first tested on two chimps named Laverne and Shirley, who were brought up to the intelligence level of human schoolchildren.
- Waving Signs Around: Protesters march outside the institute chanting "What's at stake? Dina Blake!" with signs that say things like "Gene therapy is abuse" and "Save Dina Blake."
