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This just in from Michigan: "A hard-working, much-loved American symbol is receiving a well-deserved makeover." No, Aretha Franklin isn't heading to a Canyon Ranch spa. Rather, Monroe-based La-Z-Boy is updating the old wooden handles on its famous recliners with, well, new handles.

Yeah, that's right. Since the 1950s, La-Z-Boy owners have been stretching out in the company's "motion furniture" by pulling chunky wooden handles connected to each chair's side. As of last month, though, style-conscious couch potatoes can also opt for the Arc, a new, more "streamlined" lever with a swooping arc shape and sleek brushed-metal finish.

Now, La-Z-Boy is a classic American brand and the Arc is indeed good-looking. But why all the fuss over a piece of brushed steel, which La-Z-Boy is touting as "an innovative twist" on a U.S. "icon"? Greater design developments - the unveiling of the Barcelona chair, the recent "retirement" of Philippe Starck - were revealed to the world with much less fanfare.

Could it be, perhaps, that such breathless overstatement is a symptom of ugly-duckling syndrome? Over the past several years, La-Z-Boy has significantly glammed its image up by enlisting the likes of Todd Oldham to design for it, so perhaps it's just trying a little too hard to stay popular?

If that's the case, one can only say to it: Take it easy, bud. You're kinda cool now. The handle is nice, but get a grip.

The new Arc handle is available through La-Z-Boy galleries and dealers. Visit www. lazboy.com for the nearest Canadian retailer.