The Uglies was universally panned by reviewers, so suffice it to say that you shouldn’t watch it to save your life energy. However, although I agree with the reasons why these critics are so disdainful, I actually watched it to the end. Not in one go, because I was distracted by shows like Extremely Inappropriate and Culinary Class Wars. But despite my wandering eye, I returned to it eventually, so it must have had some hold on me. This review is me trying to understand why this show kept me riveted.

Tally, the protagonist, made her way to The Smoke, which was a community of outcasts who despised the way the Pretties were living in the city - bubblegum beauty devoid of soul. There was a scene in which she got acquainted with the key players and heard the leader, David, give a stirring speech about the importance of accepting oneself and embracing originality of thought. I just thought the whole premise of this YA fiction was intriguing - keep people oppressed and superficially happy by transforming them into beautiful creatures.

Now, I don’t know if I’m giving this movie too much credit by comparing it to 1984, but because I enjoy 1984 so much, I was kinda waiting for bated breath in regard to whether The Uglies would spill some hard-biting insights on breaking free from subversion. I guess that didn’t happen, so I’m a bit disappointed. But it was fun to anticipate that in a movie.

Another reason that kept me riveted was that the main characters were supposed to be 16 because this was the cutoff age that qualified them for their beauty enhancement surgery. I was reminded of yet another movie I had enjoyed, Battle Royale, in which a class of 15-year-olds was set loose on an island and ordered to kill one another. 15-16 years old. What fertile ground this season of life is for larger-than-life narrative arcs. They still kinda retain the innocence of children younger than them, but are mentally ready to deal with just how screwed up the world is sometimes. Since they lack the restraint and wisdom of their elders, they may sometimes choose to act impulsively, which makes for interesting TV. In my opinion, at least.

In a nutshell, the promise of likeable teenagers defying the norms of the unpalatable world they have been used kept me watching to the end.