Uglies Review: Netflix Movie Is a Disappointingly Shallow Attempt at YA Dystopian Drama

The ideas behind Uglies are even more relevant now than when Scott Westerfeld's original novel came out in 2005, so it's disappointing to see this adaptation fall so disastrously flat. Hampered by cheap CGI, formulaic writing, and an overwhelming lack of personality, Netflix's Uglies is tedious and forgettable: an awkward outcome considering the film's backstory as a passion project for lead actress and executive producer Joey King (The Kissing Booth, The Act). 

Exploring the destructive power of perfectionist beauty standards, Uglies takes place in a dystopian future where everyone receives cosmetic surgery on their 16th birthday, upgrading their bodies to a state of flawless beauty. Children in this world are known as "Uglies," spending their adolescence yearning for the day they join "Pretty" society — a life of glamour and prosperity, where everyone is equally gorgeous. This system discourages any sense of individuality, but that's a small price to pay for world peace.

Once you accept Westerfeld's ambitious worldbuilding, Uglies offers a wealth of opportunities for social commentary. It invites us to consider the real-world popularization of cosmetic surgery, face-tuning apps, and disordered eating. It raises questions about society's prejudice against supposedly "imperfect" bodies, and how race, gender, and sexuality play into our conception of beauty.

Unfortunately, this movie barely touches on any of those themes. We get some vague criticism of how Pretty culture makes people insecure and anti-intellectual, but otherwise it's a frustratingly superficial adaptation. Directed by McG (Terminator Salvation, Charlie's Angels), it feels like a shallow facsimile of decade-old YA franchises like The Hunger Games, Divergent, and The Maze Runner — a selection of movies that may vary in quality, but always guaranteed blockbuster thrills. By comparison, Uglies is noticeably cheap. Like, straight-to-DVD in 2011 levels of cheap. Its screenplay isn't smart enough to balance out its low-budget production values, which rely heavily on unconvincing greenscreen backdrops, generic brutalist architecture, and (somewhat mystifyingly) multiple hoverboard scenes for protagonist Tally Youngblood (Joey King). This is undoubtedly the No. 1 CGI hoverboard movie of the year, although I wouldn't frame that as a compliment. 

3.0

Uglies

at Netflix

Like

• Joey King and Keith Powers inject some personality into their shallowly written characters

Dislike

• Cheap CGI and generic production design combine for an unappealing visual experience
• The screenwriters barely explore the dystopian message of their own story
• The plot is embarrassingly predictable and rushed

Tally is about to turn 16, and for much of the film's runtime she's fully invested in her future as a surgically-enhanced Pretty. After all, she's spent her entire life being brainwashed into believing this is the only way to grow up. But in the grand tradition of dystopian teen dramas, there's a rebellion lurking in the background, ready to open Tally's eyes to the authoritarian reality of her upbringing. Led by the charismatic David (Keith Powers), this movement rejects cosmetic surgery in favor of a more natural lifestyle, demonized as terrorists by the Pretty establishment. Will Tally join the rebels or embrace her childhood dream of becoming Pretty?

By the final act, it's abundantly clear that this is meant to be the first chapter in a multi-film series — a fundamental problem for several reasons, ranging from the likelihood of a sequel actually happening (low!) to the structure of Tally's arc as the protagonist.

It makes sense for a naive teenager to struggle with abandoning her original way of life, but Tally's role leans too far into the "reluctant" side of "reluctant hero." It's also hard to buy into the hints of romance between her and David, because Tally looks and acts like a sheltered young teen, while David seems like an experienced adult. There's no convincing reason for him to find her attractive. And that's without even touching upon the film's funniest casting problem, where the prominent rebel characters (Keith Powers, Jan Luis Castellanos, Brianne Tju) all look like models, virtually indistinguishable from the airbrushed socialites of Pretty City.

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Elsewhere, the casting just seems oddly thin, possibly due to budgetary constraints. We've all seen indie sci-fi movies that do excellent work with a small cast in a single location (Ex Machina, Moon), but Uglies isn't a self-contained chamber piece. It's clearly trying to be a Hunger Games-style adventure thriller, but it can't even manage a fleshed-out ensemble cast — never mind big crowd scenes or action set pieces. Only two Pretty characters receive meaningful roles: Tally's childhood friend Peris (Chase Stokes) and the villainous Pretty leader Dr. Cable (Laverne Cox).

That latter casting choice comes with a dubious subtext, creating a scenario where an evil trans woman is brainwashing kids to get life-changing surgery. In a better movie, casting a trans actor might open the door to a richer view of the Uglies premise, acknowledging the upsides of altering your body to live a better life. But this version of Uglies is way too basic for that. Instead we get Laverne Cox as a fascist makeover dictator, in a low-rent YA story that definitely isn't camp enough to make "fascist makeover dictator" into something fun. 

Strung together with threadbare exposition, Uglies fails to deliver any decent action, emotional weight, or thoughtful social commentary. Joey King and Keith Powers do their best, but there's no way to overcome this dearth of worthwhile material. All those hoverboard montages give the impression of padding out the 90-minute runtime, which feels increasingly rushed in the final act. Fans of the book surely won't be satisfied, and for new viewers experiencing this as a standalone drama, it's just a waste of a good idea. 

Premieres: Friday, Sept. 13 on Netflix
Who's in it: Joey King, Keith Powers, Laverne Cox, Brianne Tju, Chase Stokes
Who's behind it: McG (director); Jacob Forman, Vanessa Taylor, and Whit Anderson (screenwriters); Scott Westerfeld (original novelist)
For fans of: Bad straight-to-DVD ripoffs