IMAGE : Soft Sell: Leading Ladies Throw Moviegoers a Curve

Andie MacDowell and Mia Farrow are getting high marks for more than their acting skills. Women in particular are taking note of the two leading ladies and their less than perfectly lean bodies.

Some cultural observers suggest the appreciation for these rounder figures means the scales are tilting toward change. Not that MacDowell (“Green Card”) and Farrow (“Alice”) are anywhere near fat. But the 10 or so pounds that put them above skin-and-bones status represents a subtle shift away from the ultra-slim ideal.

“We’re definitely moving in the direction of a softer, more feminine curvaceousness,” says Margaret Sharkey, deputy general manager of Lancome cosmetics in New York. Lancome representative Isabella Rossellini helps prove the point, Sharkey says. “The feedback we get about Isabella is that women relate because she’s soft and womanly.”

MacDowell appears in ads for Luna Mystique perfume by Prince Matchabelli. She was chosen for her earthy, natural look, says Trudy Jobe, company spokeswoman. In “Green Card,” MacDowell’s figure is intentionally less than perfect. She was asked to gain about 10 pounds before filming began, says Edward S. Feldman, executive producer of the film.

Director Peter Weir “likes to make women real,” Feldman explains. “The idea was to make her more accessible. Peter doesn’t want perfect people in his movies. He wants realistic characters people can relate to.”

“It’s much sexier to have some flesh to hold on to,” says Gale Hayman, president of Gale Hayman Beverly Hills, a cosmetics company. “On the runways in Paris two years ago I first noticed that all the great-looking models were 10 pounds heavier. When they walked down in bathing suits there were many with very round fannies and some cellulite.”

Mary Neal, director of UCLA’s Adult Outpatient Eating Disorders Program, says, “There are more women in more public places who aren’t totally skinny and that helps. If you saw Madonna in that black dress in ‘Dick Tracy,’ the movie, you could see she had a stomach. Patients noticed that.”

How do they feel about it? “It’s a relief,” Neal says.