The genre dominance of early 2010’s YA media was indisputably dystopian. “The Hunger Games” kicked it off in 2012, and 2014’s rollout eventually caught up with “Divergent,” “The Giver,” and “Maze Runner” coming out consecutively. All of the above dystopian YA novel adaptations were slamming theaters and sending their fervent fan bases directly to their seats. Scott Westerfeld’s book series “Uglies” was in the common company of these titles at the time, but is only now receiving its moment on screen. Directed by McG (“Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle, “The Babysitter”), “Uglies” exists in a world that has eliminated the divisions of class, creed, race, and country via a great equalizer: beauty.
In this world, no conflict can exist when everyone is perfect and pretty. Upon one’s 16th birthday, they receive a life-changing procedure to make them physically perfect: longer limbs, brighter eyes, and zero flaws. Those 15 and below are members of the uglies, who live on the outskirts of the golden towering city of pretties in brutalist gray compounds. Tally (Joey King) is a few months behind the birthday of her best friend, Peris (Chase Stokes). As he prepares for his procedure, they make a pact to stay in touch in the months until they can reunite. But when he goes silent, she infiltrates the city to find him. Now indifferent, apathetic, and demeaning to her as an “ugly,” her procedure can’t come soon enough.
In the meantime, Tally befriends Shay (Brianne Tju), a fellow ugly who shares her birthday. They pass the time riding hoverboards and secretly reading Thoreau’s Walden. Yet, as the date approaches, Shay confides that she has no intention of becoming pretty. Instead, she plans to live authentically, running away to “The Smoke” to join a fringe group of outlaws led by the elusive David (Keith Powers). When Shay misses her procedure date, Tally’s is postponed by Dr. Cable (Laverne Cox), a government figure who, knowing of their friendship, uses Tally’s transformation as collateral. Only after finding Shay and bringing her back to the city will Tally be allowed to be pretty. Yet as she encounters the world of The Smoke and meets the mysterious David, Tally’s worldview gets thrown into question as she begins to wonder if the straightforward world of uglies and pretties is more sinister than she believed.
“Uglies” feels anachronistic in sentiment and execution. The world is a CGI playground and much of the film uses gimmicks to place us in its futuristic setting. While the tricks of toothpaste pills, AI rings, and hoverboards are likely within the source text, the film’s throwaway depiction of them is incredibly cheap. And even with the proposed excitement that these affordances should allot, “Uglies” fails to set the tone for the adventure aspect that becomes climactic to its movement. The high stakes action-oriented scenes fall flat amidst the heavy-handed artifice, both technically and on paper.
The film’s pacing sprints from set piece to exposition dump and back again. There’s no room to breathe and sit with the world McG is trying to create. Similarly, the value of the film’s thesis is plain: superficiality is inauthentic and limiting. It’s not a profound thesis by any means, and at its core, it is certainly appropriate for the age of its intended audience, but even so, the film does little to engage beyond the surface. It’s a point that’s made in the first 20 minutes and repeated with throwaway avenues for the rest of the runtime.
Performances are hard to measure against the vapidity of the script. King fulfills the classic tired cocktail of desperation and grit a typical YA dystopian lead embodies. As the wicked Dr. Cable, Cox executes her cold acts with a habitual, inexpressive, sinister boredom. There’s nothing particularly nuanced or scary about her on paper, but the film holds her villainy in high regard, leading to a dissonance in the film’s intention and impact. The most authentic performances in the film are Powers’ David, who, through the lore and mystery of his character, actually has something to subvert, and Tju’s Shay, who has more to consider than precisely what is happening in the present moment. Powers and Tju bring a sliver of emotive connection into what winds up being a mostly dull, predictable film.
“Uglies” is an Orwellian tale with weak conviction. Among its contemporaries, it’s a disappointing volume in the YA dystopian canon. With little to contribute to its headline thesis and indolent worldbuilding, the film lets both entertainment and engagement slip through its fingers.
