Dystopia, no doubt, was the defining genre of the early YA movies tv in the 2010s. This allowed the third series to launch in 2012 when the first “Hunger Games” converged in 2014 with the likes of “Divergent,” “The Giver” and “Maze Runner” all boxing in in quick succession. All of the aforementioned dystopian young adult novels with a substantial following, were adapted for the cinema and received their cinema releases in rapid succession. Then, perhaps, US author Scott Westerfeld’s series ‘Uglies’ was alongside Dawson’s Creek reboots but finally has its time to shine on screen. In the hands of McG the director behind Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle, and The Babysitter Uglies belongs to a society where beauty is the great equaliser; the areas of division of class, religion, ethnicity and nations have been abolished.
With so many beautiful people in this world, it’s hard to see how there can be conflict. Everyone is turned gorgeous on their sixteenth birthday, thanks to an all important surgery that lengthens one’s limbs, brightens one’s eyes and gets rid of any physical flaw. The ugly group is for those aged 15 and below and they inhabit dark grey structures on the periphery of the glitzy town of pretties. Tally (Joey King) is birthday depressed as she is a couple of months older than her friend Peris (Chase Stokes). They agree to continue communicating even after they have clearly been separated. But she lost all wires and screeches straight through the city looking for him. Now a faceless, uncaring hateful bimbo, she is more ugly and sick of being an ugly than ever, why is her surgery taking so long.
Amid all this uncertainty, there is no problem if Tally meets Shay (Brianne Tju) who shares a birthday and also happens to be in the ugly category. They spend time flying around on hoverboards and reading Thoreau’s Walden; however, there is quiet tension building the closer it gets to the date as Shay tells Tally that she has no desire to be pretty.
As an alternative, she intends to be true to herself, running off to “The Smoke” to become a member of a loose band of outlaws led by the mysterious David (Keith Powers). When Shay is late for her procedure date, Tally’s is put on standstill by Dr. Cable (Laverne Cox), a government official who is aware of their bond and uses Tally’s metamorphosis as leverage. Tally will be permitted to be beautiful only after she locates Shay and returns her to the city. However, after stepping into the setting of The Smoke and meeting the enigmatic David, Tally’s understanding of the world begins to shift as she meets the more appealing side of David and begins to question the black and white world of uglies and pretties that she previously loved, was there something sinister behind that world.
In terms of sentiment and its execution, “Uglies” appears to be a bit ahead of its times. The universe is a CGI amusement park, and much of the movie resorts to tactics in order to bring us into the technologically advanced world of the movie. While toothbrush pills, AI rings, and hoverboards surely exist within the source narrative, the way the movie treats them makes the concept look ridiculous. And even with the expected thrill these affordances are meant to allow, “Uglies” does not seem to succeed in setting the environment for the adventure aspect which will come to be central to its movement. Both in terms of execution and in terms of concept, the emphasis on high stakes action sequences feels empty within the context of all the overdone theatrics.
The film’s rhythm is dizzying once you’re caught up with a particular sequence, it switches to the next big event, only to go back to a rushed explanation. There’s no time to relax and soak in the world that McG is so adamant to build. In a similar way, the thesis of the film is very apparent superficiality in anything is fake and constraining. This is not a deep thesis by any stretch of the imagination, and it is certainly appropriate considering the target age, yet the film does little to go beyond this superficial level. This is dealt with in the first 20 minutes, and most of the rest of the runtime features throwaway avenues for the same theme.
It is difficult to gauge performances in light of the monotony the script seems to share with them. King provides the classic and much abused YA dystopian protagonist personality a haggard blood of desperation and defiance. Miss Cox is then befitting of Dr. Cable who is a tarred and pitch black tell sign of wicked malevolence who performs unforgiving and bone chilling acts in an unimpressive cold manner. There is no one factor that is frightening, or overwhelming hostile about her but the way she is written in this film, depicts her character as villainous which creates a rift in intention and perception of this film.
The most convincing representations within the film are Powers’ David who, there is some lore and mystery of the character, actually has something to subvert, and Tju’s Shay, who has more than just her attention on what is happening at that particular point in time. Powers and Tju offer a slither of emotions in what is eventually a rather boring, uneventful film.
“Uglies” is an Orwellian story with a rather meager conviction. Out of its peers, for instance, it’s a rather unimpressive addition to the YA dystopian genre. And with very little to add to its principal argument and lazy world creation, the movie allows both entertainment and interest to slip away.
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