Uglies (2024)

I really wish I was taking notes during this movie.

Questions were abuzz in my mind during Uglies, one of the newest films on Netflix these days. That is not a good thing in this case.

Based off of a book series I never knew existed (no offense to any fans out there: it came out when I was in High School and I was just busy with other things), the film by director McG takes place in a futuristic dystopia where everyone is brought up to be made “pretty” by the age of 16 (note: I am doing all this from memory and trying my best to use wiki as little as possible). Until then, you are an “ugly” (yeah, this is actually accurate).

One such person is Tally (Joey King), who is just months away from her 16th birthday (King is in her early twenties IRL, but never mind). She hopes to stay friends with her best friend Peris (Chase Stokes, who IRL is in his early 30s), who is on his way now to his ceremony (or whatever it is called) run by Dr. Cable (Laverne Cox).

One night, Tally sneaks out, only to realize that Peris does not remember much of his past. Along with a new friend named Shay (Brianne Tju), she begins to learn that maybe…just maybe… being “pretty” is not all it is cracked up to be.

This would be a ground breaking story for me…if I were a preteen girl. Come to think of it, I feel like I have met more than a few kids at that age (and even younger) who would be able to see this story and find it faulty at best. So that begs the obvious question: Aside from the fans of the book (and the sequels), who was this made for?

Actress Joey King has been around for awhile, and is indeed very talented (she seems at ease being able to cry on screen). While I know she had some success on TV (mainly one I have yet to see called The Act), her choices in the movies I have seen her in have not been ideal, from The Kissing Booth films to (as a gag and shiver happen to me at the same time) Slender Man (2018).

Parents….I mean, it is okay for kids in the sense of appropriateness (some swearing, one kiss, and some violence). As far as being artfully nutritional and teaching life lessons, not at all.

Recently, Uglies was the number one streaming movie on Netflix (I just checked and it got bumped to number two by The Garfield Movie.) Had I waited an extra day, I could have been typing about another movie new to Netflix this weekend: His Three Daughters.

I done messed up and had to review the bad Netflix movie.

Overall: