Customer Reviews

Pretty Ugly People

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Pretty Ugly People focuses on a hiking trip of a group of friends from school as the result of one of the members of the group misleading everyone else into thinking that she was dying.

Now, as with any other independently produced film, it is very difficult to describe "Pretty Ugly People" in a sentence. I wouldn't waste your time in writing this review if I believe describing this movie with just one sentence (as above) does this movie justice.

The title of the movie is a good indication of what kind of characters you'd expect to see throughout the film, although there are a few characters written in this movie who you would definitely see yourself knowing for a long long time. You may even know a few variations of these characters in real life. But of course, staying true to the title of this film, some of the characters written in this movie are just downright toxic, to the extend that I could not bring myself to believe that people would openly behave in such a manner in the presence of strangers.

It is somewhat sad to see just how much this movie reflects real life. Almost all of the characters written in this movie behaved as if the following are the life lessons they've been taught growing up:

Lesson 1: If you are an unattractive friend / person, you are nothing and are completely replaceable.
Lesson 2: If you get fat, your lover / spouse can deny you affection.
Lesson 3: If you are proud of who you are and won't let people put you down, you are an embarassment to the person you love / your spouse.
Lesson 4: If you act like a jerk all the time, your friends will like you anyway.
Lesson 5: It is ok if you like someone purely for how he / she looks. It is even better if you like that someone after he / she has gone through some physical transformation making him / her so much more attractive (on the outside) than before.

But once the movie is over, it is no mystery why some of the characters behaved the way they did. Had some of these characters not been through what they were subjected to years ago (We won't get to see the details of their past as we only get to see them for about 90 minutes in the present), they might turn out to be much nicer, less "ugly" people. Although I strongly believe that there are a few characters in this film that I could not find any redeeming qualities whatsover, I leave that up to you to decide if you agree with me.

The film started out ok but started to feel lethargic and uncomfortable to watch halfway through, but the writer managed to wrap the story up nicely in the end. It is a pity that some of the characters were not allowed to develop further (such as the character Trevor), and the film also suffered from time to time from the limited production budget, especially with the dialogues. Some of the scenes had really muffled audio, so I was glad that the DVD had English subtitles.

If you are looking for a standard Hollywood comedy, run as fast as you can from this. The movie has its funny / icky moments but it is by no means a standard Hollywood fare, of any kind. If you ar looking to get provoked and spend days later thinking about the messages the movie is trying to convey, watching this movie will be worth your time. But be aware, this kind of movie is most likely not everyone's cup of tea, so I would suggest you not play it in front of an unfamiliar audience.

A note about the technical specifications of this DVD: The video was mastered in 16:9, not 1.33:1 as indicated by Amazon.

This movie invites a quick comparison to the Big Chill, but the story only has superficial nods to that fine movie. "Pretty Ugly People" has things all too lacking in today's movies-character development, genuine drama, and thoughtfullness that lingers long after the DVD is ejected. I guess it wasn't enough of a feel good movie, or didn't have enough star power, or maybe was just too realistic for the megaplexes to like. This is a movie to make just about everybody squirm, and that's part of its charm. This movie is more real that the so-called "reality" shows on TV, and is a refreshing cold breeze compared to the slop and inferior remakes that Hollywood is churning out now.

When I saw the cover, I thought another National Lampoon reject stupid teenage comedy. I was wrong. Imagine the movie Big Chill when college buddies get together, only this time they hate each other and no one died. Lucy, who was the fat chick at college got bypass surgery and lost a bunch of weight. She wants to share her joy with her old college buddies while on a hiking trip in the isolated mountains of Montana. Rather than describe the going-ons, I will give you a brief run down of the other characters on the trip:

Becky: AKA Becks, or "Humper" was her college nickname. She has gotten fat, has one child and is a school teacher. She brings along her husband Richard who happens to be the principle of the same school, a bit older, and doesn't like her college buddies who all claim having slept with her.

George: Investor. Pretends to be a ladies' man. He is an in the closet gay who wants to stay that way. He is rich and lives in the same building as Oprah.

Raye: Is an African-American congressman running for Senator. He doesn't like anything black except for Bill Cosby. He brings along his wife who is later described as a "ghetto fat-ass."

Trevor- He is an agent for a Hip-Hop band and also has money. His wife divorced him because his manhood is small, she even put it in the divorce papers.

Austin- He is a steward for an airline. Everyone thinks he is gay, but he is straight and has the hots for Lucy, who we discover is a virgin.

There is an inadvertent running theme in this movie: No one wants to sleep with fat chicks. The interaction between the characters is good as they all re-discover themselves and each other. Movie contains MF bomb, sexual situations, drug use (pot and mushrooms), and night time nudity which was not revealing. Good cast of actors. I wonder how this one slipped under the radar with 3 best feature film awards and 2 audience choice awards.

I purchased this movie after I watched a short preview. I thought it was some kind of comedy judging by the cover. Well, it's not, it's more dramatic, which I like. I was impressed not only with the plot but also with the performances. I'm glad I purchased it, and certainly will watch it again. Very interesting story of a group of friends who get together on an unexpected trip...

This movie was terrible. The character that the movie is centered around, Lucy, is so unlikeable. I kept thinking that throughout the movie there would be some story line or something that would make me connect with her character or make her more likeable, but it never happened. She is selfish and manipulative. Towards the end of the movie has the nerve to call each of her friends a terrible name & gets mad at them b/c they are pissed at her for lying to them. If one of my friends lied to me and implied that she was dying so that she could get us all to join in while she lost her last 4 lbs and sprinkle the ashes of her fat along the journey, well I'd be beyond pissed. She actually sprinkles the ashes of her fat along the journey. That part should have been completely left out. There is a lot more about this movie that makes it terrible, but trust me don't waste your time.

this dvd PRETTY UGLY PEOPLE was great!!!! funny and a story that everyone can
learn from. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!

Maybe, I'm just not the right demographic for this movie. I mean, the title did explain what this movie is about. Pretty people on the outside, ugly people on the inside. And maybe I was fooled by the way the cover and opening sequence seemed to make this movie a bright, cheery, funny movie like Sandra Bullock or Hugh Grant.

Possibly spoilers:
This movie was rarely funny. And what I could not get past was how such horrible people stay friends with each other. I could not imagine being friends with most of them. Maybe the steward (who was a saint or an idiot to keep going back to that narcissistic new-skinny chick, and helping that gay dude), and maybe the small-penis dude, who seemed like a genuine guy.

I mean, really, they are just ugly people and halfway through I just wanted a meteor to come down and wipe most of them out. And I started wishing Freddy from Friday the 13th would appear.

And yes, I get it. People are like that because of their past and things that happened to them. But, c'mon, to make us sit through an entire movie of hateful people (except for 2), shoot, I get enough of that everyday. I don't need to see this and again, I don't think any of them would stay friends with each other.

Here are the pros: nicely acted, there are pretty people to look at, nice cinema photography. I suppose the direction is good too. It's the story I hated.

I would say pass on this movie.