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Joey King and Brianne Chu talk to Extra about Uglies, the Netflix film adaptation of Scott Westerfeld’s young adult sci-fi novel.
In the story, everyone is deemed ugly until the government administers extreme plastic surgery to them on their 16th birthday. Joey and Brianne reflected on the thematic relevance, admitting that they too struggle with beauty standards.
While discussing the moments in the film where women are analysed, Joey acknowledged that “just because we’re making a film about this doesn’t mean we’re not going to analyse ourselves.”
Brianne added: “We still struggle, we’re human beings too.”
Even after getting her hair and makeup done, King says she still looks in the mirror and wonders, “Do I look good?”
Brianne said the book was published 15 years ago, adding, “The standards and ideals of beauty that are imposed on women, especially, have always been there and are always changing and it can be hard to keep up with trends. But now we have social media, filters and Facetune, which is not a bad thing in itself, but sometimes it can feel like we are obligated to look a certain way or use filters. But it should really be a choice and a question of ‘How does it make you feel?’ I don’t think we question it enough.”
Joey also recalled reading the book when he was younger and feeling like he could relate to the characters.
“As an 11-year-old, I really related to Tully’s journey because when we meet her, she’s not necessarily the perfect hero,” King said. “She’s very much going with the flow of the world as it presents itself to her, and then she grows up a lot and finds herself and finds self-acceptance throughout the story. I found that so impactful as a kid.”
The female characters Tully and Shay shared a friendship on screen, and the actresses also formed a bond off-screen.
“It was always important to me to get the friendship between Tully and Shay right… but having someone that I really love and have a real friendship with made it so special to be a part of the film,” Joey said.
“I think that chemistry translates on screen,” Chu added.
Additionally, the women shared survival skills that would come in handy in a dystopian world.
“I think I’ve given some great pep talks and kept morale high,” Brianne asserted.
Joey was more realistic, saying, “I’m prepared. I have an earthquake kit at home so I think I have the supplies I need. I just updated my earthquake kit two weeks ago. I’m pretty paranoid so I think paranoia helps in this situation.”
“Uglies” will be available on Netflix from September 13th.
