Friday Favorite: What is Hollywood Ugly?

I totally remember when I wrote this. I had just seen previews for a show that was coming for the fall of 2006 called Betty the Ugly and I was absolutely outraged.

We all know what happened that fall after I watched that very same program. Yeah, I ate a lot of crow about that one.

But this was short and sweet, and for the most part, it still applies today. (And I think this may have been the only time Celeste in the City has ever been publicly mentioned)

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You know there is something wrong in Hollywood when this is "ugly".

This was an entry that was a long time in coming, but what was the last straw was the previews for Betty the Ugly I've been seeing lately. I know that the point of the show, much like The Devil Wears Prada(I know that picture is from the Princess Diaries) and Celeste in the City is about women who are overcoming the rigors of a publishing world that is aligned against them, but I still saddens me that a certain look has been deemed by Hollywood as their conception of ugly, especially since the characters they play are all genuinely kind and lovable people. I mean those are qualities we generally want in people we want to be around.

There is just something that rubs me the wrong way about this whole beauty standard. I mean, the actress playing the title role in Betty the Ugly also starred in the critically acclaimed film Real Women have Curves. I am trying to think of young women in the movies who were referred to as "ugly" that were in fact ugly, and I am having a hard time doing it. I even think independent movies get in on this act too.

But it seems that satirically minded people have picked up on this trend too. For example, I remember an episode of the Simpsons where Moe Sylak was auditioning for for a soap opera and he is rejected because the director wanted someone who was Hollywood ugly, not "ugly ugly".

I am just wondering if there will ever be a day in Hollywood where more normal looking people are part of the mix once again. Of course, that day will be right after allreality shows pick totally normal looking casts as well, because we all know that the people they select for those are totally representative of the population at large. *rolleyes*

Tags: betty, ugly, america ferrera, anne hathaway, majandra delfino, devil wears prada, princess diaries, moe syzlak, simpsons, real women have curves, real world, survivor