Susan Granger’s review of “Uglies” (Netflix)
When “Uglies” debuted as No. 2 on Netflix, I was naturally curious about the screen adaptation of Scott Westerfield’s popular 2005 young adult novel; apparently, it was watched 20.8 million times in its first three days.
Unfortunately, it’s an abysmal disappointment.
Set in a dystopian world where beautifying cosmetic surgery is a requirement for every resident at the age of 16, it’s all about turning “uglies” into “pretties.”
That’s a ritual that 15 year-old Tally Youngblood (Joey King) eagerly anticipates: “All my life I wanted to be pretty. I thought it would change everything,” she says.
Since her bestie Peris (Chase Stokes) is a couple of months older, he undergoes the transformation first and promptly ‘forgets’ his promise to meet Tally on a specific night. When she pursues him into Pretty City, he’s flawless yet mindless and obviously no longer comfortable in her company.
Then her new hover-boarding pal Shay (Brianne Tju) openly refuses surgery, running away to link up with an elusive rebel group known as the “Smoke.”
Confused, Tally seriously considers joining free-spirited Shay but is confronted by sinister Dr. Cable (Laverne Cox) and convinced to join the anarchists on an undercover mission to betray her friends.
The Smoke turns out to resemble an old-fashioned, off-the-grid nature commune, led by mysterious David (Keith Powers), who dutifully explains the why and how of its existence.
Superficially scripted by Jacob Forman, Vanessa Taylor and Whit Anderson, the CGI is overdone and the outcome is utterly predictable.
Despite McG’s fast-paced direction, Joey King is 25 years old and no longer believable as a teenager. And the familiar sci-fi plotline in which ‘free thought is eliminated’ has become hackneyed and outdated.
Casting Laverne Cox as the villain is a curious choice. Cox became the first openly transgender person to appear on the cover of Time magazine and the first transgender person to have a wax figure of herself at Madam Tussaud’s.
And since 61 year-old author Scott Westerfield served as executive producer, he’s hardly in a position to defend its vapidity; on-screen, he made a quick cameo as the Wheelbarrow Smokie, nodding to the camera.
On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “Uglies” is a fake-looking, fantasy 4, streaming on Netflix.
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