Uglies

Review by Mark Woodring

Author’s note: I’ve never read the YA novels this movie is based on.

Probably because I’m no longer a YA. But unlike some folks, I don’t necessarily poo-poo the genre simply for existing. Like any artistic endeavor, any genre can rise above its perceived limits to give an audience something more.

Harry Potter, for example. Or The Hunger Games.

But not 50 Shades or Twilight, right?

**NOTE: this post may be updated with audio once we actually have the chance to talk about it. Until then, you can read Mark’s review below. Remember, though, you can listen to all our discussions of this and every other movie directly over on ACAST. Stay tuned.**

Uglies - Review
Uglies (Netflix)

100 Minutes, Rated PG-13

Written by Jacob Forman, Vanessa Taylor, Whit Anderson (based on the novels by Scott Westerfeld)
Directed by McG

SYNOPSIS:

A world in which a compulsory operation wipes out physical differences and makes everyone pretty.

 

Since I’ve read exactly zero of the “Uglies “novels, I have the luxury of reviewing the movie on it’s own merits, which will be easy, since it has precious few.

At the age of 16, all of the children in the dorms (sent there by their parents, who are already “pretties”) are taken and surgically altered to become the “best” versions of themselves, without any defects (either real or perceived).

Basically, it’s a procedure that mimics the filters available on SnapChap/Instagram and countless other social media outlets.

Sure, a very generous interpretation of this could be an indictment of the current social media landscape and its obsession with perfection, along with its impact on the mental health of children and teens, constantly bombarding them with the idea they aren’t “good enough” as they are.

Okay, maybe I’ll give it that.

Pair that with the societal assertion that once you change yourself, you’ll be happy in a way you can’t understand until you undergo the procedure.

Unfortunately, the film is a muddled mess. It’s a surface-level examination of our beauty-obsessed culture, as shallow and vacuous as the phenomenon it purports to lampoon.

Without delving too deeply into the politics of the day, I could easily make an argument that “the Right” would hate this movie because it’s a thinly veiled allegory for the Trans movement. So much so that the head of the city is played by Laverne Cox.

On the other hand, I could also make the argument that “the Liberals” would hate this movie because it undercuts both the supremacy of the State (with the extra, unacknowledged effects of the procedure) as well as the not-entirely-true “happiness” purported to come from changing yourself into something other than what you’re born as.

In other words, this film doesn’t know what it wants to be, it tries to placate everyone, and ends up a bland, 100 minute exercise in waste, recycling story and character tropes throughout its runtime.

And I didn’t even mention the absolutely terrible CGI effects. Definitely got late-90s Sci-Fi (not Syfy) channel vibes from it.

I turned this one on because I needed something to watch that I hadn’t seen yet.

I chose poorly.

But God bless Joey King; she was doing her level best to carry this thing home.

Uglies is now streaming on Netflix and stars Joey King, Brianne Tju, Keith Powers, Chase Stokes, Laverne Cox, Charmin Lee, Jay DeVon Johnson, and Jan Luis Castellanos.

And remember, if the BEST thing you can say about a movie is that it’s “visually stunning,” then they’ve done something wrong.

Please don’t forget to LIKE, SHARE, and FOLLOW us on:

And please, if you like what we do, consider helping us keep on entertaining you. You can use this handy link:




Or, you could check out the merch in Our Store:

VSMP Merch Store

Not only will you be helping us out if you pick up some merch, you get cool stuff to wear around (including the coveted WTFWT? logo!)


 

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,