After languishing in production hell for nearly a decade, Scott Westerfield’s young adult dystopian fantasy novel Uglies has received a cinematic adaptation produced by Netflix. Revolving around a dystopian future where enforcing standards of physical beauty has turned out to be a way to mitigate human conflicts and discrimination, the movie boasts a stacked cast comprising some familiar and some new faces. Being honest, the majority of the characters of the movie are presented as generic and uninteresting, which contributes to an overall forgettable experience. Still, a handful of well-written, well-acted character portrayals turn out to be saving grace at the end.
Tally Youngblood Played by Joey King
Joey King is a familiar face to the audience, rising to stardom after playing the lead in Netflix’s The Kissing Booth trilogy, but even before that, she already had a promising career as a child actor, having appeared in movies like The Dark Knight Rises and The Conjuring. Recently, her portrayal of Gypsy-Rose Blanchard in The Act has garnered much appreciation as well; therefore, in the context of her past performance, it can be stated that Uglies failed to use her potential as an actor. Joey King plays the role of Tally Youngblood, the teenage lead of the narrative, whose preoccupation with becoming one of the Pretties—the feeling of being left out without being able to become one—properly conveys the problem with the disturbing transformation procedure in the first place. As Tally gets to learn more and more about the troubling truth hidden behind the beautiful façade, she gradually unlearns what she has been indoctrinated with in the past. Tally’s connection with her two best friends, Peris and Shay, allows viewers to learn much about her intent, drive, and worldview, which is how her personal transformation from a compliant agent of the system into a rebel, willing to dismantle the deceitful authoritative control—feels like a well-charted journey. The problem is, Tally herself feels like a stereotypical teenage lead with no distinctive personality of her own. After the terrible revelation about the truth of the new human civilization, viewers would have expected Tally to be treated as an intense, strong character, but in a sense she has been reduced to playing second fiddle in most of the parts where viewers would have wanted her to step up. As a result, when Tally decides to sacrifice her freedom for the greater good and surrenders to Cable and her lackeys, the significance of the act doesn’t feel impactful. With good character writing, Tally Youngblood could have been this generation’s Katniss Everdeen, but at the end, marred by poor characterization, she turns out to be a forgettable lead in a generic young adult narrative.
Shay Portrayed by Brianne Tju
Brianne Tju’s small screen acting credits are much more stacked compared to the number of times she has appeared on the silver screen, but Uglies makes a strong case for changing the equation, as the character of Shay brilliantly portrayed by her is the only one who seemed to have some sort of personal agency in the movie. Shay acts as a pivot to channel Tally’s emotional response and also the person responsible for helping Tally to see things more clearly by removing the blindfold society put on her. But more than her importance to the narrative or role in Tally’s personal growth, Shay as a rebellious, lively teenager, willing to break the boundaries imposed by conventions and societal expectations and emphasizing freedom of expression, appears much more likeable and genuine than almost every other character in the movie. Unlike Tally, who hasn’t yet learned to find self-acceptance, Shay embodied the spirit of individual uniqueness. Brianne Tju’s convincing, strong performance as Shay allowed viewers to connect with Tally’s plight after seeing Shay transformed into one of the Pretties—and if a continuation follows next, viewers will surely be intrigued to learn about Shay’s predicament more than Tally’s own.
David Portrayed by Keith Powers
Keith Powers, whom viewers can remember from his portrayal of Dr. Dre’s younger brother, Tyree in Straight Outta Compton, played the role of the enigmatic, idealist teenage leader of the insurgents, David. Frankly speaking, the role itself, much like most others in the movie, is a victim of generic writing, and David never comes off as a well-rounded character as a result—mostly feeling like a caricature till the end. Born to parents who rebelled against the existing system, it is natural for David to champion the ideals of freedom and self-reliance like he has been taught to. But is there more to his character than fulfilling the expectations of his parents, his commune—like does he wish for others to have a personal agency to emphasize their individuality? Ironically enough, the answer is no.
Dr. Nyah Cable Played by Laverne Cox
Rising to fame with Netflix’s Orange is the New Black, actor Laverne Cox plays the role of the despicable, cunning Dr. Nyah Cable, responsible for overseeing the transformation procedure and propagating the lies of the new human civilization—and she did her job decently with the role she was offered.
Peris played by Chase Stokes
Yet another Netflix star, actor Chase Stokes, known for his role in Outer Banks, portrayed the role of Tally’s first best buddy, Peris, who later on goes through transformation procedures twice and ends up becoming a soulless pawn of Dr. Cable. Peris’ character could have exploited the friend-turned-enemy trope and added a stronger emotional resonance, but once again, bad writing ended up jeopardizing the potential.
