Released to Netflix just ahead of the past weekend, it inevitably didn't take Uglies long to rise to the top of the best streaming service's chart – where it now sits in the UK, despite its paltry 19% Rotten Tomatoes rating from critics. That score sure isn't pretty – but it's no surprise.
Uglies is the adaptation of Scott Westerfeld's hit book of the same name, released back in 2005, and much-acclaimed among its young audience at the time. It's built around the premise that everyone has to undergo cosmetic surgery on their 16th birthday to leave their "ugly" self behind and become "pretty".
The book was, but of course, a comment on our obsession with beauty and societal norms – something that, arguably, is even more applicable than ever before with AI imagery and social media at the forefront of consumption – wrapped into a sci-fi adventure. The show leans into that same notion, to some degree, but misses the subtext for the sake of on-screen action.
The lead, Tally, played by Joey King – Hollywood's current hot stuff (read that with as much irony as you wish) with recent breakaway roles in Bullet Train and Despicable Me 4 – wants to join her slightly older friends, but when one runs away she finds herself on a journey that puts her upbringing into disarray.
Westerfeld's first book was only the start of a series, so Uglies already looks to have divided fans and critics alike. Many are calling for the "full series" to be made, but with ratings sat so low right now, the idea of Pretties, Specials, and Extras (the successive books in the Uglies series) becoming feature-length movies is certainly up for question.
Netflix's on-screen sci-fi adventure was directed by McG, who's well-known for other largely throwaway-yet-fun features such as Charlie's Angles and Terminator: Salvation. Maybe, then, we'll be waiting for another near-two-decades for the follow-up, by which time a relaunch in an altogether different vein might sit better with the fanbase.
