Netflix’s Uglies was met with a harsh critical reception upon its release last Friday. The YA film feels like a nostalgic throwback to ten years ago, when dystopian books and films were immensely popular amongst young audiences. While The Hunger Games was by far the most successful, other YA movie adaptations like Divergent and Maze Runner also drew in large audiences at the time.
However, it doesn’t seem that today’s audiences are quite as enamoured with the idea, as Netflix ’s Uglies has not enjoyed the same kind of reception. The film, which stars The Kissing Booth’s Joey King in the lead role of Tally Youngblood, has received a dismal 19% score on Rotten Tomatoes, while its audience score is slightly better at 53%. The synopsis for the film reads: “In a futuristic dystopia with enforced beauty standards, a teen awaiting mandatory cosmetic surgery embarks on a journey to find her missing friend.
” Many critics had issues with the film feeling “dated”, while others argued that the cast was simply too attractive “pre-surgery” for the plot to be believable. However, some loyal fans of the books were excited to see the beloved series from their teenage years adapted for the big screen. Without giving too much away, the film ends on quite an open-ended note, with many plotlines waiting to be resolved.
Therefore, it seems those who made the film were hoping it would lead to a sequel - but is there enough buzz around it? Uglies author Scott Westerfeld, who wr.