Netflix's UGLIES Belongs in 2010 | Explained

[@AmandaTheJedi]

Thanks to Surfshark for helping me watch I Used to be Funny! Use code JEDI for an extra 4 months free at surfshark.com/jedi

[@simonlee9993]

i love everything you do!

[@JeffreyAllanBackowski]

You're getting less and less passable as a female :-(

[@20catsRPG]

Surf shark is a known scam, they’re selling customer data. How do you think they can afford to give people 4 months for free? Don’t shill for just about anyone please.

[@JeffreyAllanBackowski]

@@20catsRPG Want to hear another scam? Amanda is a dude, A MAN DUH.

[@NickHunter]

Please review The Substance! :)

[@cashmerenerd]

i did not realize the town was called UGLYVILLE. i need to lie down

[@AmandaTheJedi]

I think they made the wise choice to leave that out of the movie

[@eileensnow6153]

Chapter one is titled “New Pretty Town”. The opening sentence is, “The pink sky was the color of cat vomit.” 😂

[@JeffDoyen]

Isn’t that the town from the Uglydolls movie?

[@2nd3rd1st]

get your beauty sleep

[@DadGamer9000]

@@JeffDoyen I have 3 daughters so I know the answer to this: Yes.

[@trinaq]

They missed a perfect opportunity to have this film be animated, as opposed to live action, since they'd be able to convey the abnormalities of the "Pretties" more, as opposed to just slapping a golden filter on them.

[@COSun25]

Lol A lot of Hollywood studios aren't going to throw the funding for an animated adaptation of a teen dystopian-YA novel.

[@hotchocbooks]

That's literally what I've been saying! My main complaint from the moment the trailer dropped was that the pretties (and especially the specials) are supposed to be inhumanly pretty, almost creepy in how perfect they all look, which would be really cool if animated (like really taking advantage of same-face syndrome being a really common problem with animated films) In live action the most they can do is just be regular celebrities with make-up which is so much less fun imo (plus Peris' nose didn't even change for obvious reasons and that would've been both really easy and really impactful in animation)

[@najbaamer]

Yes! This is another instance of a story that would be better adapted to animation than live action. Maybe something in the style of Arcane. They could've made the Soecials look so cool too. I think it might also have given them a bit more freedom with designing the environment and clothes.

[@sarahhenry3607]

I was actually thinking the same, expecially if they manage to get all the way to the Extras and their cool holo-moving tattoos. I think the Specials were the only dissapointing part of the movie to me. I dont exactly remember the books, but I do recall them being described with cyborg like facial markings

[@najbaamer]

@@sarahhenry3607 They have very sharp, hard features, like a predator. Dr. Cable is described as a cruel beauty and uncomfortable for Tally to look at.

[@kristym7149]

They saw the bold glamour filter on tiktok and ran with it.

[@pluviosity]

Joey King is not a bad actor, but I wish her agent would stop trying to make her the next "YA break through" or teen hearthrob, and try a more diverse role like in Bullet Train.

[@philtess3126]

Joey King is to Netflix what Rob Schneider is to Adam Sandler. Whenever they need someone for their b-content, they call her. Maybe one day, she's gonna get her own deuce bigalow.

[@mazurka5042]

I thought she was quite good in Hulu's We were the lucky ones, serious roles suit her much better imo

[@littlemissmello]

I thought she was actually not at all bad in this movie. The movie was bad haha, but I don't think the acting is what killed it.

[@nerdjournal]

Are we sure this is her agent and not just a block deal for a certain amount of movies with netflix like they do with most actors?

[@NotD-kp3by]

I feel like Netflix is trying to do what they tried to with Noah Centineo and make her the go to for YA stories like this

[@Amalizna]

Amanda beeing too Twilight to read Uglies at the time feels very on brand

[@felipeveloso1578]

It's wild that nobody talks about how the premise of this story sounds like it came from those POV TikToks, where an ambiguous government turns the most random things into population control tools. "What if Simon Says was deadly" "What if blinking was deadly" "What if being ugly was deadly"

[@najbaamer]

It was partially inspired by the short story "Liking What You See: A Documentary". In it there's a (reversible) surgery that takes away your ability to perceive physical beauty. The story revolves around interviews on a college campus discussing whether or not it should be made mandatory on campus.

[@thatlemonadeguy6742]

​@@najbaamerIs it good? It sounds a lot more interesting than the other story.

[@najbaamer]

@thatlemonadeguy6742 I haven't gotten through all of it yet, but I think it's pretty good so far. I think it's giving a better discussion on how physical appearance/attractiveness affects interactions in our world than the whole book series manages.

[@Lex_brooke]

Probably because this whole era of YA books way pre-dated tik tok?

[@xLiLlyx98]

​@@Lex_brookecan you two read? "It sounds LIKE it came from one of those tiktoks" no one said it did or that it predates tiktok. Two things can be true at the same time

[@lVlegabyte]

Before watching: No, they weren't supposed to make this movie when I'm an adult with a mortgage and shit- they were supposed to do this when I was still a teenager

[@jclyntoledo]

😂😭 I know but I'm guessing there was too much of a dystopian craze and everyone got tired of it so they had to wait?

[@princeapoopoo5787]

Same. Same so hard.

[@eatatjoes6751]

Exactly. They were supposed to make this when I was still an angry teenager yelling about shit, and I was a teenager in 2009-2008 ish.

[@800Ms-k6n]

Funny how people kept referencing "Divergent" in the movie review of "Uglies" when one of the script writers of "Uglies", Vanessa Taylor, literally co-wrote the first "Divergent" movie 😂😂

[@titheproven954]

Well that explains a lot.

[@felipeveloso1578]

Likely place for her to be

[@thedeepfriar745]

Oh so that’s why they’re both shit!

[@RedSpade37]

​@@titheproven954 In fact, I fear it explains _too_ much.

[@AshePBlack]

Welp that sucks being uglies was a commentary on vanity and themes were diff yet it's not even like book and it got no love

[@teddieprox2307]

People hate this film, but to be honest, it's refreshing to see bad YA films being made again. Personally loved it

[@AmandaTheJedi]

Nature is healing

[@800Ms-k6n]

At least Divergent and The Host has a friend now 😂

[@quinntribolet6593]

@@800Ms-k6n the first Divergent movie was good, the other ones just go downhill

[@sarahhenry3607]

I really did not think this movie was bad. I grew up on these books and really enjoyed how this adaptation went down.

[@user-x7dc2pq7n]

I think people are more bored by it. I couldn't get through half of it without wanting to watch anything else

[@benzaiten933]

how is this society sustained? who does all the work? farming? building? administration? medical care?

[@cashmerenerd]

i think the movie implies Fancy Computers, but not having read the books, it seems like a perfect movie 2-3 new detail. tally is our PoV, and kt makes sense that she doesn’t know or care, because she isn’t supposed to, same with everything else.

[@funeralforahorse]

Yeah I’m not a big “uuuugh your word building doesn’t make any sense!” But I find it really lazy how obvious it is that the world of this movie was reverse engineered to make the premise work. Like if you think about it for a second you realise how dumb it is that so much of society is dedicated to unproductive tweens lmao

[@fafnyrslair]

So from what I understand, after their time in pretty town, they're just expected to magically become productive members of society. 😂 But even that's half-hearted. Because clearly all their kids live in ugly town

[@aguyhere7945]

In the books, and mind its been over a decade since I read them, eventually the Pretties get bored of the endless parties and mature into Middle Pretties which have all sorts of useful knowledge and skills downloaded into their brains Matrix style. Otherwise it's mostly automated with the stuff that isn't being run by robots and AI being done by the Middle Pretties.

[@eileensnow6153]

@@fafnyrslairThey have a surgery to reduce/remove the brain lesions once they’re 26. Careers like firefighters and scientists have the lesions removed entirely so they can make decisions relevant to their jobs.

[@Pros_Leo]

I'm pretty sure the Specials were supposed to be beautiful, but in a way that also triggers subconscious fear in the people who look at them. I think their minds were also altered to be more predatory. Like... they could think and reason, but working as enforcers gave them fulfillment because it gave them 'ethical' targets to hunt, chase, and fill with fear. They'd get a sort of emotional high off of doing it. I might be wrong though, I read the books like...15 years ago.

[@lxretta]

this is the impression it left on me too. haven’t read the books in over a decade and also haven’t seen the movie…but i recall the specials being “hauntingly” beautiful. Like they walked into a room and they were notable because they were both Pretty and Powerful.

[@hope-cat4894]

So they probably dipped into the uncanny valley of pretty where they looked less human. Or at least that's how I would portray them on screen. Imagine mannequins that can move, basically. 🤔

[@AshePBlack]

They were supposed to look moderately predatory more dangerous but hey let's just use blue contacts

[@thecreatedvoid117]

Yeah they were "pretty" by pretty standards of the world but had more predatory features to make them look more fearful iirc

[@thedeliveryboy1123]

oh my god this is the canthal tilt thing all over again 😭

[@guaposneeze]

From what I've been told, the story makes more sense in the books. But the movie is wild in how bare bones it is. In the movie, it seems like there is literally only one city on the planet, and one person runs it. One kind of flower serves one purpose in the worldbuilding. And there's one place to go camping away from the one city. It feels almost like a 90's budget adventure game where they only drew scenes and items that were plot critical. I do think maybe this would have worked as a TV series, they could have spent some time on some of the stuff from the books that the film hollowly aped without letting it have any sort of importance.

[@sunhat8750]

It felt like it was meant to be episodic

[@AshePBlack]

In the books we learn there are more cities, but not in book one

[@AshePBlack]

This movie was trash heap, just read first 12 pages in book

[@taylormullen2815]

Like a lot of movies, it would have done better as a series. Especially a book with this type of lore. I would have loved seeing more of Tally's journey! Plus, Keith Powers 🤭

[@jrunjew6604]

when i saw it on netflix i genuinely expected it to be a tv series. when i realised it was a movie i was like hmmm, but i didnt want to judge before i’ve watched it. but the movie proved me right because the plot moved too fast, the world wasn’t built properly and i didnt feel attached to the characters to really care about what happened to them. as someone who read the books and loved it, i was quite disappointed with how the movie turned out

[@gaphic]

other people have said this already, and i have to agree, this movie should've 100% been animated. it's just not possible to convey the severity of the pretty procedure with real people, and i think the movie really suffers for it. the way new pretties eyes are described in the books is so particularly evocative and impactful and it's not remotely conveyed by the yassification filter

[@AshePBlack]

Nope they could have done a live action, a good director could have and a better cast

[@gaphic]

@@AshePBlack not responding to anything I actually said but ok

[@bishielurfer]

I think a live action could work if they just really leaned into the uncanny valley more. Kind of like when you see an actor deaged poorly and they look all smooth and like their face doesn't really belong on their body. Maybe use really dramatic contouring to make their features really sharp. It would have required a lot more work in editing but if they wanted to go live action I think that would have been the way to go. And honesty even the "too much beauty filter" look could have worked if they used it to make more of a commentary and connect it more with our modern day. These books were written before a lot of these filters existed and when social media was at a different place. I don't personally think adaptations have to be 100% true to their source material, so I think altering a few things from the book to more reflect/comment on these phenomenon wouldn't have been a bad way to go.

[@UnderdarkDrow_]

Especially with there being a graphic novel version of Shay's POV! And there was a book with all the visuals and info about the world...the visuals on netflix are so different, as a huge fan of the series decades ago with all those visuals in my head, the Netflix version is strange to me

[@nero1798]

Funny enough there alrerady exists a better version of this movie. There is a twilight zone episode called "Number 12 Looks Just Like You" which is much better than this movie.

[@kalib2997]

I remember reading these books when I had extreme morning sickness over a decade ago! The characters would eat MREs that required water while on their adventures. In one book, they did not have enough water for their spaghetti bolognese MRE, and it was all tacky and salty. For some reason, that always sent the morning sickness off of the rails.

[@lindseystein9676]

I got lucky and only had morning sickness once while pregnant, but that MRE description might have caused a second time lol

[@kellydavis3219]

My entire life since the 2000s I literally can't see spaghetti bolognese written anywhere without calling it SpagBol in my head thanks to the book lol

[@kalib2997]

@@kellydavis3219 Yes! Same!

[@soupoup]

​@kellydavis3219 isn't it called that everywhere ?

[@patrickkenyon2326]

@@kellydavis3219 Better than what the military calls it.

[@grainelev8tor26]

Scott Westerfelds YA dystopian books were some of my favorites in high school. More than the unique ideas and world building, his commitment to portraying teenage characters in a completely unflattering and messy way was refreshing. His protagonists were often deeply nasty to each other but still realistic and compelling. I liked the Uglies series but the Midnighters and the Last Days were my favorites of the bunch.

[@OppositeofHATE7]

Agree, he was my fav author in high school but I never even tried to read uglies after reading the back summary. I still look for the MBW in commercials😅

[@rinabobina9905]

LOVED Midnighters! Super underrated back in the day. Even my friends who read Uglies didn’t read Midnighters.

[@beneditohenrique8358]

i just thankfull that out of all his books leviathan is not getting a Live action but an animated adaptation

[@lounielouna7556]

If this was made in like 2012 or 2014 they would've def casted Shailine Woodley as the main character 😂

[@Megafreakx3]

Well to be fair the movie was announced in 2006, and we are getting it now, so I am not one to look a gift horse in the mouth

[@Samantha2209]

@@Megafreakx3this is the second time in my entire life I’ve heard (well in this case read) “don’t look a gift horse in the mouth”… the first time was less than 24hrs ago… and now I am freaked the fk out…

[@dancinganimals.]

​@@Samantha2209 You've never heard that saying before?

[@SocialExperiment232]

@@dancinganimals.I had never heard it either.

[@scrapefrenzy]

​@Samantha2209 It a super old saying...like back when horses where used for transportation. It's weird it's comming back. It's like some influencer visited their gam-gam and they heard them say this now they can't stop.😂😂

[@michelaiacorossi472]

Every time Laverne Cox was in a scene I was like "Wait, wasn't this character played by Kate Winslet?!" Then I remembered I was not watching Divergent.

[@zara-zq1oi]

Perfect casting. Exposes his entire agenda.

[@diamondyvie1182]

@@zara-zq1oi You're just a transphobe. The irony was lost on you as casting a trans person to play someone who wants to control people when it's people like you who want people to force people, particularly trans people, to live the way YOU want them too.

[@diamondyvie1182]

@@zara-zq1oi The irony was clearly lost on you, as casting her to play someone who wants to control people when it's people like you who want to force people, particularly trans people, to live the way YOU want them too.

[@alim.9801]

​@@zara-zq1oi what agenda? Who are you talking about

[@ariellwrf6844]

But Amanda, if they focused more of the plot on the concept of attractiveness, they couldn't cast so many conventionally pretty people as uglies.

[@writerchick94]

No, that's quite literally not the point. Even pretty people by today's standards are ugly in the books because ugliness isn't about actual attractiveness - it's about conformity and distraction. The pretties aren't supposed to be pretty by today's standards - they just all look the same. Their features are all morphed to an "average" human face. They could cast the most attractive models ever and they would still fit the book's definition of an "ugly" because they would have normal and visibly unique features.

[@ariellwrf6844]

@@writerchick94 And that's kind of the point I'm making; they didn't follow the plot. You're interpretation is valid. The book also questions the nature of attractiveness and how it can change over time. Pretties aren't made to look like each other in the books, their surgeries make their faces symmetrical, their current ideal of attractiveness. The movie turned pretties into a homogeneous instagram filter, and because of it, there isn't much change between uglies and pretties. They're more akin to our standards than the book's.

[@writerchick94]

@@ariellwrf6844 in the book, conventionally pretty people were still uglies

[@AshePBlack]

​@@writerchick94unless they didn't get any characters close to accurate

[@AshePBlack]

In book when tally uses the Bungie jacket tally wonders if it will catch her because she is taller than the pretties. Suggesting what? At least average fem pretties are shorter than tally and since specials are diff I'm not sure if some or all are taller

[@uhhyeah9033]

if i had a nickel for every time a female YA protagonist and their best friend injured themselves in solidarity and shared a scarred hand as a sign of childhood devotion to each other, and then one of them chooses to get rid of it after experiencing a “better life” and having had experienced getting their appearance altered, i’d have two nickels, which isn’t a lot but it’s weird that it’s happened twice

[@zky7643]

What's the other YA protagonist with the scarred hand trope? 👀

[@annah6512]

@@zky7643 I think Alina Starkov but I'm not completely sure

[@Unicat9]

​@@annah6512 I was thinking the same thing at first, but I don't remember her choosing to remove it, i thought she said not to remove that one. I might be misremembering it

[@zalhiami]

​​@@Unicat9 OK so I haven't read the books but, from what I remember, in season one of the show, she first decides to keep it but, because her best friend never answered any of her letters, she feels betrayed, and she fall in love/decide to work with Alexander, so she asks Genya to remove it.

[@GothicPoet93]

If you do continue and read the series, be sure to include the fourth book. Its set a little in the future after the events of the first three, and it 100% predicts our current social media culture and the way any and every individual can produce content and potentially reach a state of fame and wealth. It's so uncanny how much of it "came true".

[@Lisa_Flowers]

Wait, are you talking about Extras?? That's the one i've read lmao I still have a copy from back in the day. I'll definitely be rereading it.

[@Rose_from_UK]

I commented something similar, when it started happening I thought of “Extras”

[@misstweetypie1]

There is also a new series of four books. They follow a new group, but Tally and Shay and a few other old characters come in midway through. Also good, tackles a lot of the issues we are facing now.

[@JustAmy2420]

​@@misstweetypie1whaaaat? I didn't know about that! I'm off to furiously google, despite being waaaaaay too old to be the target audience...

[@hopelessnihilist1425]

100%. I reread the books in anticipation of the movie release (👎🏼) & I'm continually shocked how eerily accurate Extras is

[@zky7643]

When they yassified Peris and Shay, I couldnt stop laughing. It looked they just Facetuned them 😅🤣🤣🤣

[@csblakeley]

What's funny to me is that I read the Uglies series back in the day and I think it was a big part of why I was so tired and burned out on the whole dystopian YA thing by the time Divergent and Maze Runner came out. And here we hare, 20 years later and the positions are reversed...

[@amypatterson7395]

Yeah, I even missed The Hunger Games because I was kinda burnt out on the YA tropes even by that time. I think a lot of folks don’t really understand how much YA dystopian/sci-fi content like this was being written even before the genre exploded.

[@800Ms-k6n]

I remember that the "The Hunger Games" book was considered to be ripping off "Uglies" as the novel came 3 years before "Uglies". Now that both novels got a movie adaptation, it's fascinating how "Uglies" is now considered to be a bland version of "The Hunger Games" just because it got an inferior version than a much better YA dystopian adaptation 😂😂

[@noheliag2769]

For me it's not because THG got a better adaptation as much as it is because the construction of the dystopic and politic system is better. And, even though THG shows a lot of cruelty and trauma, it doesn't try to romanticize something. Is more to show how war is pointless and takes a toll on everyone, independently of the side they were on. Uglies, for what I remember, has a barely believable sistem, an annoying number twist that aren't that interesting and, to my suprise no one mentioned this when the books resurface due to the adaptation, but literally has a storyline where they cut themselves to feel better or something which I found disturbing even back then, not because is triggering even though it can be for some people but fot me it was about the fact that it's not portray as something horrible that the character were raiaed to believe it was ok, but something normal they come up with and actually gave them gratification. I don't understand how that wasn't problemático back then but definitely is not ok now. In general, Uglies was older and had its fair share of fans but definitely THG is better, both in construction and adaptability, as well as message. Uglies simply should've stayed back in the 2000's Sorry for the long text😅

[@emilybracho4794]

THG is nothing like Uglies...THG is about what violence, starvation, war and poberty can do to people and how it brings out the worst of them. In TGH nobody cares about looks or perfection, they care about power and control or just mere survival; the capitol wants to punish the districts for the rebelion, in Uglies they try to brainwash people to avoid chaos. On the other hand, the Capitol loves all the pain and suffering they are causing to the districts, they are sadistic af...the premise behind THG is way deeper and disturbing, also it has a more interesting contex and the world itself is well thought unlike uglies where you don't really know how their way of living is actually sustainable...and don't get me wrong, I'm a sci-fi junkie and I loved Uglies, the concept is very interesting and all, it also fits pretty well into a lot of the sutff we have going on right now with social media and ridiculous beauty standards...HOWEVER, you can't compare it to the THG, because THG is like the best YA/Dystopian trilogy...not even Divergent or the Maze Runner could beat TGH

[@gaphic]

@@noheliag2769 the cutters were supposed to be disturbing, dude. the fact that it gave them 'gratification' doesn't mean it was romanticized. they were all literally brain damaged

[@AshePBlack]

Again hunger games didn't rip off uglies, it had diff themes, uglies is literally about vanity and self perception

[@lainiwakura1776]

@@noheliag2769 From what I'm reading in the comments, it just sounds like Uglies is a knock off Brave New World.

[@bdink2605]

I actually screamed “Yessss” when i got the notification. I’m too locked in 😂

[@Heothbremel]

They didn't go hard enough 'Prettying' people, that's for sure.... I feel like actually taking the filter to the extreme could have caused some really interesting commentary

[@Seraphina-o4y]

They technically can’t be as perfect as the people who become “specials” so I think they had to leave some room to go harder. If I’m remembering correctly from when I read the books.

[@excessivelyfangirlingbookw3339]

@@Seraphina-o4y but that's exactly where you use CGI... To unnaturally enhance existing features. I think this movie could have had a way better message if the 'pretty' people looked uncanny valley-esque to us. Right now, people watch the movie and say "right, they DO look pretty good" and that is sending the audience completely on the wrong way.

[@felicedomneys2575]

Can't wait for your "The Substance" review Amanda

[@ashleybrooke2087]

That movie is bonkers but it commits hard to its premise

[@Lisa_Flowers]

I have a weird attachment to this series because I read one of the books as a kid, but for some bizarre reason I only read Extras, which is like an offshoot of the main series after MANY of the main events happen, and only features Tally later on as a side character. So I both have a lot of context for this and also absolutely none lmao

[@bunchoflemons]

I worked in a children's bookshop when these books were initially popular and I kept seeing them in the YA section. I read the blurb on the first one and thought "I really hope they don't adapt this one." Sorry, I think I jinxed us all.

[@oliviagriffith3626]

I’m just picturing you thinking we’ve been safe all this time, only for this to be released in 2024 of all years 😂

[@AshePBlack]

Nah they just needed a better director and cast and to not change book

[@niambim401]

As a child I looked so forward to this book turning into a movie, but after almost twenty years of waiting I fear it's much to late. Not even going to try to watch it :(

[@ellaabbey1570]

I was thinking the same. And honestly...they could of done way worse. They didnt do it great but considering a lot happens more in her inner thoughts then outward expression they did decent. The end is def a bit different and how she is intoduced to the smoke existing is a little different instead of sneaking out a few weeks bf shays bday its the night before etc but timeframe for a movie i get that change. Overall i rate the book a 10/10 and the movie 6.5/10 little cringe as an adult but nostalgic enough kept close enough to it. Again its just hard to make inner thought shown on a screen without a narrator type thing going on and that woulda made it WAY worse tbh not as bad as my twilight review 😂😂 book was 7/10 movie 1/10

[@ReddBluGreen]

I was fully Obsessed with these books in middle school. Not only did I have all 4 novels, I also had the guidebook lol. I'm kind of glad this movie didn't come out when I was a teen because I would have been devastated at the changes 😂

[@abelhapedras]

more than 10 years later and I am still quite devastated 😭

[@hopelessnihilist1425]

I'm almost 30 & 8 still have all 4 books (physically AND audiobooks) & the guide book 😂😂

[@sleevetrocks]

Really appreciate this video’s explanation of the book. I went into Uglies with no hint as to what it was or what inspired it. Halfway through I was utterly confused and unable to finish the run time. Now I’m less confused. That’s you. You did that.

[@yukinofairytail7137]

i'm so sad that they made the pretties look like that. They look like a filter gone wrong. They're supposed to be "cute" like it's a big point in the book that they have big doe eyes and ppl feel compelled to help them - taking pretty privilege to a next level. They're also supposed to look exactly the same, except for modifications like crystals in eyes or smth but it's like picking from a cataloge, they're not supposed to be yassified versions of themselves. They should look like dolls or smth.... idk i wish they payed more attention to that bc that and the scary beauty from the specials is so important to the message of the books. (also they completely changed dr cables character?? and the scary women forcing kids into surgeries is played by a trans woman??? like thx for hiring trans ppl at all i guess but how tone deaf can you be, that's the one single role where you actually shouldn't hire a trans person)

[@heathertaylor3103]

like a year ago I randomly remembered this book and like I don't think it was the best book/series by any means but I just had such positive memories of the little details and it's kinda sad to see all those lost. I haven't watched the movie (and probably won't) but like for example in the book David's parents still had the creepy eyes because there was like reflective stuff put into their eyes and to try to remove it would risk them losing their vision so they were stuck with it. And idk that's just a good metaphor for the real-life reality of plastic surgery. Like things like filler or implants can be removed or naturally fade over time but now we have people removing entire fat clusters (I'm referring specifically to buccal fat removal) and even if someone regrets that later it's currently impossible to fix that. Also, I remember specifically from book two the clothes recycler, and how Tally's wool sweater from her time with the smokes couldn't be recycled because the machine only works on synthetic fabric. Just great minute storytelling while also commenting on the current issues in fashion. Also shows how the city doesn't actually care about sustainability because if they did they would use natural fibers. Anyways sad to learn they tried to fit so much detail in such a short run time cus it was the details that actually stuck with me for that book.

[@Seraphina-o4y]

This book regularly comes to my mind. And I remember the clothes recycler! It makes me want to reread the books, but honestly I think I should leave them ambiguous and special in my memory 😂

[@AshePBlack]

That's just it the movie characters were nothing like book and they didn't show world well

[@kristym7149]

The only thing this movie accomplished is making me want to read the books again.

[@AshePBlack]

Books hold up, do it

[@ScarletMidnight]

It's been a while since I've read the books, but it sounds like Tally and Peris were really rebellious and pulled a lot of "tricks" when they were uglies. Being tricky is a sign of intelligence and creativity, and the higher ups keep an eye on who is tricky in order to see who might have the qualities to be a good "Special." With that background, and then Peris showing conflicted feelings about convincing Tally to go to the smoke (despite having the mind numbing pretty surgery), I think its enough to plausibly suggest he could be a good "Special" and not a second class, lower level version. I know none of that was explained in the movie, but I could see an argument for it based on his background in the books and his added character arc in the movie. I also think Cable is the exact kind of big bad who would elevate him to Special as a way to further manipulate Tally. One of the many things I didn't like about this adaptation is that Cable was the face of the system and looked pretty instead of being the powerful person who pulls the strings from behind the happy facade of the society. Specials were supposed to look prettier than uglies but also be super intimidating, like a predator.

[@justhavingalook7857]

Amanda: *constructing an amazing, heartfelt review of a movie adaptation of a series I loved as a child* Me: *visibly shaking* there's no 'i' in Westerfeld

[@perryjones7771]

The fact that Joey King went from “We Were The Lucky Ones” to THIS speaks volumes about her agent. This girl is a serious dramatic actress not a Netflix one.

[@dadgbe4834]

She's a serious zionist

[@Nicolesid1]

Imagine this coming out mid 2020 early 2021. Tiger king, then this! We were all in need of "classics" and all the tiktoks and cosplays. Netflix FUMBLED the bag hard!

[@800Ms-k6n]

The moment Netflix announced McG as director, you damn well knew this movie is doomed from the start 😂😂😂

[@COSun25]

Remember back when we fell in love for his 'Charlie's Angels' films?

[@800Ms-k6n]

​@@COSun25I don't really fall in love with those movies. I mean it's definetely a fun guilty pleasure movie but not something i really worshipped them lol

[@donnybuoy]

@@COSun25I remember

[@Hellohellonada]

@@COSun25i loooove those movies. Schlocky spy fun.

[@alexmikhylov]

you are talking about it like the source material is any good

[@ariellwrf6844]

The poster was a bit of a call back to the original covers. The movie didn't do the surgeries right, but the fact that you only see one half of her face is more accurate to the books. It's probably her better looking half anyway.

[@carebear6036]

She hates the right half of her face in the book! I remember thinking which half of my face I preferred & agreeing w/Tally that I liked the left half better.

[@ashleybrooke2087]

I would guess the author would have avoided using The Plastics as terminology since Mean Girls was very much a thing around the time the first book came out & a lot of authors don't like being considered derivative even if it's unavoidable.

[@monikorasort]

Watching this movie made me feel like a little kid watching divergent on-demand for the first time again. This film exists for early 2010s nostalgia and no other reason.

[@ChaosRaych]

If you'd told me this was a parody of Divergent, Hunger Games, et. al., I absolutely would've believed you

[@tonialston1968]

You ever watch the Starving Games? Lol

[@TheBonkleFox]

@@tonialston1968 Seltzerberg doesn't even deserve being called a parody. it's just a farce is what it is.

[@nashjillian4450]

Saw The Substance tonight and one of my first thoughts was hoping you'd do a video on it. Your mention here brought me joy.

[@siobhan_is_on]

It's insane to me people keep saying this adaptation is "way too late" when, unfortunately, this series is more relevant than EVER.

[@siobhan_is_on]

And yes I read the entire series in middle school and have been shocked for like a decade that it wasn't adapated lol

[@OppositeofHATE7]

But it is way too late for them to try and tell this very relevant premise in such a 2000s way. It would've been okay if they changed it since it already seems like they made a bunch of changes for no reason.

[@siobhan_is_on]

@OppositeofHATE7 What would've been a "less 2000s" way to tell a story written in the 2000s? /gen What they should've done is just been self-aware they were creating a period piece 20 years later and embraced the camp

[@AshePBlack]

Well the movie did suck either way

[@abelhapedras]

it's not too late. it's just REALLY BAD. I'm so sad about it, it's such a good story, it deserved a much better adaptation... sigh.

[@fullmetalhaven]

I would not he able to make it through the movie without making a cars reference every time they said rusties.

[@tmamone83]

Uglies was definitely written for teens. When you're a teen, being one of the popular kids is literally the MAIN social issue. Forget war and poverty--being ostracized by the popular kids is the worst thing for a high schooler! (I say that slightly in jest, but for a teen, it's true.)

[@AmandaTheJedi]

Nah that's so very true I agree!

[@DarkSwanMoon]

Movie really said, cheep wigs and contacts will make you pretty. 😂 I can't wait for your thoughts. 👀

[@55rz55]

Getting plastic surgery after being over 16 is basically just south korea.

[@issecret1]

The dystopia in the movie is nicer than reality in SK

[@genocider9782]

​@@issecret1real💀💀💀💀atkest the teens in this universe can enjoy their teenage years

[@bojackharkness1971]

That’s Beverly Hills

[@lauraelizabethbrown]

Scott Westfield (the author of Uglies) literally said that South Korean's relationship to plastic surgery was his inspiration.

[@55rz55]

@@lauraelizabethbrown well whaddya know!

[@dannietea]

A live action Uglies movie was doomed to fail from the start just based on the premise alone.

[@AshePBlack]

No it wasn't it just needed better script director and cast

[@misstweetypie1]

I think if they had picked actual teens, with spotty faces and awkward proportions, it would have worked (unknown actors). And a better director, producters, editor, etc.

[@excessivelyfangirlingbookw3339]

While I mostly agree that they shouldn't have made it into live action, I still believe CGI could have done wonders... but for some reason, that's the one time when they don't use it enough.

[@sakurayankishi9708]

@@misstweetypie1no, if Disney and Nickelodeon stars have taught me anything, children especially teens should not be acting, Hollywood is filled with creeps

[@misstweetypie1]

@@sakurayankishi9708 good point! Anime/animated it is, then!

[@blitzvalentine363]

I remember reading this book in junior high and I never finished the entire series (I started Pretties, but never finished past when they got the pills to rewire their mind or whatever they did) so seeing a movie about it makes me happy, even if most people don't like it

[@videohistory722]

I liked it too!

[@alleyoliver3315]

WHAT HOW DID I NOT HEAR ABOUT THIS??? I’ve wanted an Uglies adaptation since I was a child, why did it have to be bad? 😭

[@angiep2229]

IMO it's not bad. I'd call it okay. Not amazing but not horrible. Okay.

[@miskatonic6210]

​​@@angiep2229It IS bad. Bad acting, bad CGI, stupid plot, stupid world. Unrelatable characters.

[@caitlingill]

@@miskatonic6210 People can have opinions

[@misterkite]

"In a future society, everyone must undergo an operation at age 19 to become beautiful and conform to society. Since her father killed himself after his surgery, 18-year-old Marilyn Cubberle desperately wants to hold on to her identity." That's the summary of a 1964 episode of the Twilight Zone.

[@Solarstormflare]

i read the books years ago, they were actually studied at my school in the "not as advanced" english track, I remember not being all that impressed by the book but i loved the graphic novel with shay as the protagonist

[@megshep]

Back in the amazing 90s kitchen!! Fitting, because the person I borrowed the first Uglies book from had that same wallpaper in their parents' kitchen 😅

[@NMornigstar]

There is definitely reason why you are one of my faves to listen to rant about movies. I've seen some other of my faves talk about this movie and you are the first one who actually explains why it's so stale, while keeping it interesting and not absolutely trashing it

[@Metisminds]

I genuinely thought this was an older movie until like yesterday. I was wondering why so many people were suddenly talking about it, but ca,e to realize it’s a new release

[@mothcub]

As someone who read the whole series and promptly forgot all details like a decade ago, I was so blindsided and ready for this movie lmaoooo. It was. ok. But for me it was delicious, perfect, nostalgic trash. Also crazy that Joey King brought this forth for us. Thank you Joey 🙏

[@mothcub]

btw Tally and Shay lesbians. I won't hear any arguments

[@AmandaTheJedi]

@@mothcub I got even stronger vibes while reading the book - so much hand holding. Glad the movie cut out Shay blatantly wanting to be with David

[@starlight8554]

Oh my god this video just unlocked memories of borrowing and reading this book from my local library when I was like 9 with my dad’s library card. I barely remember the story but literally no one knew these books because Harry Potter books were still dropping.

[@ashleybrooke2087]

The author admitted that he had watched certain Twilight Zone episodes but forgot the details. Clearly he didn't forget. And, yes, Twilight was a lukewarm reheat of various vampire tropes & a heavy dose of sanitized Anne Rice. I don't demand originality but I cringe when authors or other creators act like they've come up with something completely new.

[@leslienope]

This premise is very Eye of the Beholder/Number 12 Looks Just Like You. Wild how we've been talking about these same ideas for such a long time!

[@eryqeryq]

​​@@leslienope"Number 12" was literally the first thing I thought of when watching this review

[@Megafreakx3]

HeI actaully got the "the inspiration came from a friend whose dentist asked him to consider getting cosmetic surgery." . And let be honest here nothing isn't original here, so some ideas are going to reuse, even if he didn't know it

[@MartishaCody]

Also how accurate #12 was as plastic and loss of individuality has become so relevant

[@nicolettetallmadge3254]

Agree that he didn’t forget. I’m a huge fan of the old Twilight Zone and this seemed to be an updated and greatly expanded version of “Number 12 Looks Just Like You”. Shay’s character was almost direct lift of the main character in the old episode, even down to her not wanting to be transformed, being transformed against her will and then becoming mindless and vapid afterwards. Nothing wrong with being inspired, but it seems a little far fetched that didn’t remember details when there’s a character in that episode that has almost beat by beat arc in the movie. It was only a half hour show after all, and classic one as well.

[@Rose_from_UK]

The sad thing about these books, is it predated “acceptability” of cosmetic surgery and even commonplace botox and filler. The Forth book predicts tiktok and streamer mentality before even youtube was the established place it is now. I have a unique to you (Amanda) and people your age, that when Star Trek next generation was released, for example, technology shown in that was unseen and amazing. EG touch screens, iPad type stuff. Now the things and themes in the book will seem as deep as a school-kids watt pad fiction. So yes it is sadly to late to show its full awesome dystopian “be careful people” type narrative. Speaking of pre/post production hell, i will NEVER forgive the studio sitting on the movie rights to the “Tripods” books, highly, highly recommend them, my introduction to dystopia as a kid in the 80’s. Yes I am that old

[@raetreader]

If the pretties looked more uncanny, I think it could have been really interesting. Bad CGI would have actually enhanced the message of the idea of scrubbing away your uniqueness in place of unnatural frankly horrifying adjustments to your face and body to the point where you're near unrecognizable. I'm talking some Spy Kids nightmare fuel type uncanny too, not the pansy TikTok filter stuff they pull in the actual movie. I actually heard in another video that in the book the augmentations were supposed to be over-the-top to the point of absurdity. As it stands it's just another dystopian teen movie.

[@DizzyBusy]

I read a comment that the pretties should have wolf faces. Like, that's the beauty standard in that world, and average human features are considered ugly. That would have driven the point better

[@brittnianime]

with how late the movie is compared to the book and the societal changes since im surprised they did such a 1 to 1 with it.

[@philtess3126]

Joey King is to Netflix what Rob Schneider is to Adam Sandler.

[@BuzzieeTheMarsmellow]

they really made yassified (derogatory) Fahrenheit 451

[@Anna-B]

A lot of YA dystopians have… ok premises. But they never do anything good with it! I’d love to do something the “Matched” world or the “Selection” or something

[@LightningRaven42]

They have all the same issue: They all involve simplistic rebels and revolutions. The Hunger Games is the least bad at it. What makes the most famous in the genre so great is that they stay focused on the critique and not in giving easy answers. 1984, Brave New World, Handmaid's Tale, Us, etc. They stay on message, while most of these YA stories get lost in the sauce trying to jam in power fantasies and love triangles (that aren't even triangles at all).

[@user-ny1wo1vp9r]

​@@LightningRaven42The revolution part in the selection seemed more like an afterthought to me than anything else. I think they should have just done away with it. Set the story in a secondary fantasy world instead of the future.

[@spiderbug7615]

@@LightningRaven42 the important distinction to be made here is that these are explicitly being made for kids and teenagers and, as much as people want to squawk about how "kids deserve good fiction too", they always seemly to harshly and annoyingly forget that younger people just fundamentally experience fiction differently. What seems simplistic to us is only simplistic for the sake of focusing on the parts that teens and YAs care about and are better able to understand.

[@andrear4954]

The Selection? That trilogy has two separate tv pilot episodes made of it (its on yt!) and they both got cancelled. Its pretty easy to see why 😓

[@roxrou852]

The Wind On Fire Trilogy by William Nicholson was a brilliant dystopian too. The MC family in a colour coded society, and outside there’s all these other different societies with their cultures and rules and they’re all absolutely hardcore. Really immersive world.

[@thekawaiislartibartfast42]

I am still so confused about the changes they made to the story.

[@AshePBlack]

Tally gold eyes, tally not being taller than average fem pretty? The dumb back story out of nowhere 😢

[@anneonomous4910]

I'm so happy you uploaded a video about it! I thought this movie would be right up your reaction alley!

[@IronMant420]

Wife and I just watched it last night. There were many unanswered questions as she read the book, and I didn’t. But I loved watching this movie. Felt there was a strong cast and a decently morbid story there.

[@hookedonfandom]

Honestly I think skipping straight to Extras might have been a better idea - I think the social capital as actual capital and anti-influencer intentionally leaving as little of a digital footprint as possible might have been a more relevant story to explore today.

[@mariannaortiz2426]

I dont understand why Peris got turned into a Special. It didn't happen in the book and the concept of a Special wasn't even introduced until book two. I hate it when movies hint at multiple parts of the lore that thwy won't even develop till the next movie. It just makes the story more intertwined than it is. And it wont do anything for the story because a) Peris likes being 'bubbly', be likes to be dumb, he's an adrenaline junkie basically and b) It makes no sense for that doctor to force Peris to be a Special. Most of the Specials choose to be that. The only one that I remember was tuened into a Special without her consent was Tally. And I swear if this theory is right and they plan to make Peris the new Zane, I will flip out. Percy and Zane are so different personality wise. Zane is charismatic and loveable and Peris... He's a nice guy but he lacks balls and just goes along with what everybody else wants only to backtrack at the last moment while Zane has ambitions and is courageous. And I'm sorry, but in my mind, Zane is so much prettier than Peris. And if this theory is right, I know they're not erasing Zane. They're just making Zane and Peris the same characters but it will not be the fuck¡ng same. They are two different characters.

[@andrear4954]

If they create a sequel movie and do not add in Zayne I will be so mad 😤

[@petrastedman669]

15 minutes! Whoo! And this is a series I never read and a movie I wasn't planning to watch, so thank you! I love when you break down stuff I've seen to see where our opinions differ, but I also appreciate when you're covering things for me I wouldn't otherwise see.

[@DadGamer9000]

Yayyyyyy! Lol My wife read these books and was explaining the premise to me after she found out there was going to be a Netflix adaptation and my first question was, "Oh...So how are they going to cast people? Because clearly they can't be 'UGLY'" but the way she explained it is that the surgery just represents status, it doesn't matter what you look like - but holy moly the movie was a little rough lol. BUT HOVER BOARDS!!!!!!!!! WHOOO!!!!!!

[@RealLukeWilson]

The Twilight Zone episode “The Eye of the Beholder” did a better job with this theme in 25 minutes than this movie did in 102.

[@brunaishuman]

After this review, I think it would be awesome to hear you talk about “The Substance”. That basically deals with the same concepts of self-acceptance and “beauty” but in a way that is more tense and gruesome.

[@vctimwa0]

YAY i love the set table wallpaper with pies and PRETTY FOOD!!!!!!

[@WG55]

It looks like a pantry converted into a studio. 😆

[@vctimwa0]

@@WG55 kino asf

[@epgarokco]

I was always confused why they didn't push this out ages ago! It was something I remember picking up at the public library back when I was in high school. After years, I simply thought it would never be. Maybe it should have stayed that way

[@Eyeronic1]

The problem with this premise is even if they make everyone "pretty" they would still nitpick each other apart. Like that episode of Fairly Oddparents where everyone is a grey blob and people were like "but I'm greyer and blobier then them"

[@Asrielmerrymoon]

Help my mom was watching this, and I asked after seeing a scene “is this a adaptation of the book uglies?” and my older brother started yelling at me for interrupting 😭😭😭😭

[@hannahcervantes6342]

From what I remember they give them a chip that downloads their chosen job. When they become a middle pretty

[@Jag592]

I knew it🎉🎉🎉 let's go babyyyy🎉🎉🎉I knew you would make a review ❤❤❤

[@heathm2330]

This seems very Brave New World-ish in the way they describe where the Pretties live and how their lives are lived. I'll bet the author took some beats from Brave New World for sure.

[@ScarletMidnight]

Exactly! The society enables hedonism in its younger population because that's the age group that would normally be trying to reform the system. Keeping them distracted and inebriated ensures their complacency, only allowing them to graduate to the next stage of their lives when they're older and less likely to question things or seek reform. It's horrifyingly clever and effective to keep the system in place. Create a problem that makes them feel inferior (being ugly) and be the solution (the surgery) and afterwards give them anything they could possibly want to keep them out of your hair until they're not a threat.

[@TheLegendaryMovieCritic]

Netflix messed up Uglies so badly as the pretty transformation was Joey King but with a bunch of makeup on her face!

[@AbbyAndrew]

the books were SO GOOD, it's so sad that this movie is all most people will ever know of it. a lot of the themes are also very relevant right now (if they did it right). Now more than ever, young people are pressured to get cosmetic procedures done at such a young age, and see filtered faces online all day every day. This film had sooo much potential.

[@BeeBod]

I remember reading this in middle school and I was STUNNED seeing this movie come out this late like wtf I wanted that 13 years ago bro

[@Anynom]

The movie is Uglies but this review is beautiful

[@isabellenicole7885]

One thing I don't understand is how David looks like his parents. If his parents were high ranking scientists that left the city, wouldn't that mean that they had the surgery at some point, so they wouldn't look like their natural selves?

[@seeliequeen]

This book series was huge for me as a kid. I couldn’t stand watching the movie, the more reviews I watch the happier I am that I didn’t finish it.

[@michaelwebster-clark9865]

Joey King really has a cursed filmography huh

[@lyannastarkweather]

Truly. I genuinely discounted her ability as an actress because of the Kissing Booth movies, but then she blew me away in The Act. I hope she takes on more grown roles soon.

[@moongod5013]

I was so astonished that this series resurfaced after so long that I’m actually considering watching it just for nostalgia, and I don’t remember a terrible amount of the first book I read. I trust Amanda’s judgement.

[@misstweetypie1]

Just reread the books, haha!

[@sealpup9341]

Hmm... so you're telling me that they cast a black trans woman as the person pushing the society that demands cosmetic surgeries from children as a means of control? That just doesn't feel right to me, y'know? No shade at Laverne Cox because she's a great actress and seeing her in more things is great. Just saying there's something there about the movie seeming to completely miss the point when it comes to the thought of a society built on beauty standards and what could easily be considered eugenics. Like they could have made a statement on how white beauty standards are but instead... well. I never read these books and watched the movie, but... Pairing a trans actress with a character centered around a society pushing 'unnecessary surgeries' is so not it, Netflix.

[@ScarletMidnight]

I had the exact same thought! Not only was Dr. Cable supposed to be operating in the shadows, it doesn't make any sense for the diversity in the casting to be done in this thoughtless way. The face of this society should have definitely been Eurocentric/white beauty standards. And I also felt uncomfortable with them making David black too because it felt like it was exoticizing him, in a way. I appreciate diversity but it's shallow if it's only onscreen and not behind the camera. I really wish it didn't come across as so tone deaf, when doing diversity thoughtfully could have made this story so much better. You can't just change a characters identity without thinking how it would affect who they were and how they experienced the world.

[@lindseystein9676]

It’s like Jk rowling’s demented fantasy

[@angiep2229]

I see your point. But on the other hand they cast a black trans woman as the leader of the beautiful people.

[@LeoDBW]

This is a very interesting point, but I've been thinking about something: trans folks today are already heavily pressured to "pass", some are told their bodies don't look "manly","feminine" or attractive enough, so some go as far as getting heavy surgeries they didn't planned on having at first, to have their identities validated by their peers. There's also this pressure around all queer people that they have to exist in an "attractive", aesthetically beautiful way. Some trans folks are living happily just on hormones, without the top or bottom surgery, but are still pressured to go through the procedure to being seen as a full person. And this is messed up, to be pressured to go through surgery so you look like what THEY think feminity or masculinity should look like. The goal of transition is to look like yourself, not a certain idea imposed by someone else. So that whole concept of unnecessary surgeries could be an interesting theme coupled with a trans actress. (That is, if the writers bother to think that far)

[@welfare_king]

That's one of the reasons why I liked it LMAO

[@buttercupjude135]

so weird that this is even a movie, i grew up with this series and never thought it'd get one

[@gabbyvelvet]

I honestly loved this movie, the pacing was off but the acting was so good. The actress they chose for the villain was so believable and the performance she gave was so good! I love Joey in this movie too, but then again, these were my favorite books growing up, so I might be blinded by nostalgia and great acting

[@sarahhenry3607]

As someone who grew up on these books, and was their for the release of Extras. I seriously enjoyed this movie a lot. Like, maybe way too much. The Uglies series was never meant to be taken seriously beyond its obvious meaning. The fun of it really is all in the super cool future tech, the ability to augment yourself in semi-inhuman ways, fuckin hoverboards and SpagBol! The netflix movie nailed this for me. And I think a big part of as to why, is that this movie caters to those that did read the books and understand that "Omg im 14 and Tally is me" Something we should also ponder on. Why didnt this movie come out during that huge wave of mid 2000's YA novel adaptaptions? Would it have done better if it came out the same year as Eragon, Percy JAckson, or even Cirque Du Freak?

[@Britterzbee]

Thanks for covering Uglies Amanda :) I thought the movie was good, but I haven't read these books since high school (10+ years ago) so the inconsistencies you highlighted completely flew over my head. My gut did tell me it was odd that Peris became a Special though so at least that was a correct feeling aha

[@akrasiels4001]

😂 I wonder if I still have my copy. I was so desperate to avoid vampires and braided archers (at the time I was such a little hater) I picked up THIS masterpiece instead.

[@maravreloaded]

You know you're getting old when you thought Teenage Dystopia was part of YOUR adolescence.

[@Chewingice5]

I'm still waiting for the Unwind movie

[@bridgettelair370]

I'm still sad that we'll probably never get an Unwind adaptation. It was my favorite YA dystopian book series and it had an actually pretty good ending, which is very rare because I did not finish most others like Hunger Games, Divergent, The Selection, etc.

[@carleyhopkins2596]

I think about that book almost every day for the last 13 years. I read it once, it made me completely sick. The operation scene… for that alone I am sorry to you but I’m glad it doesn’t exist.

[@bridgettelair370]

@@carleyhopkins2596 I think there's a youtube short of an operation scene, it was good but super intense and sad.

[@lyannastarkweather]

I think the Unwind Trilogy might be a little too on the noise given our current political landscape surrounding abortion for any major studio/distributor to release a film adaptation. That being said, it is one of the most profound series I’ve ever read.