Joey King adorns McG’s screen adaptation of Scott Westerfeld’s 2005 young-adult novel, “Uglies” as the pretty-enough-to-be-ugly Tally Youngblood existing in a world where beauty norms have been radically reset. Set centuries post our era, 16-year-olds undergo a compulsory "beautification" surgery aiming to eradicate physical disparities and purportedly societal grudges caused by looks. A world where your attractiveness pre-surgery is inconsequential and everybody eventually becomes equally beautiful.
Succeeding dystopian interpretations like “The Island” or the “Divergent” series, the audience anticipates the impending Orwellian revelation: the forced beauty transformation is not for societal betterment. Tally and her fellow teens not only accept but are enthralled by the promised transformation, unknowingly becoming part of an illusion, borne out of generations fed on lies. Their world is convinced that looks-based discrimination and reliance on fossil fuels led to the planet's downfall. In the "Uglies" universe, physical beauty is uniformly distributed and plant-based resources fulfill survival needs.
Expository voiceovers by King fill the audience in on the peculiarities of this new reality. The narrative proceeds in a standardized monotone, instilling Tally's individuality and her close friendship with Peris, undergoing his beautification surgery two months prior to hers. Peris' subsequent disappearance ignites Tally's daring and agile rescue mission into the city of the Pretties.
The city, like the remaining sets, attains a familiar video game-esque ambiance. The Pretties themselves, though aesthetically superior with smooth skins, high cheekbones and golden eyes, lack originality. Discovering the disturbing truth about Peris and meeting Shay, a rebel against the transformation surgery, constitutes the predictable twist. When Tally learns about the mental cost of superficial beauty, it comes off more comedic than insightful. The ensuing battle with Dr. Cable, commanding the transformations, fails to incite the intended climax. The film's wink at forthcoming sequels feels premature considering its failure to articulate anything monumental.
The YA genre, potential of uncovering deep-seated desires and revolts, falters in the adaptation of "Uglies". Even though the idea of addressing the pressure of beauty standards on youth was novel in 2005, it currently feels outdated. The movie "Uglies" fails to recover post the conventional mirror introspection, leaving nothing unprecedented behind.
