Hollywood Homely: Difference between revisions

Line 1:

[[File:Bettyugly 9704.jpg|link=Ugly Betty|frame| I can think of at least one thing wrong with that title.]]

{{quote|'''Producer''': What were you thinking?

'''Casting''': Well, you said you wanted gritty. In other words, ugly.

'''Producer''': I wanted Mary Ann on ''[[Gilligan's ~~Island|Gilligans~~ Island]]'' ugly, not Cornelius on ''[[Planet of the Apes]]'' ugly. TV-ugly, not ... [[The Grotesque|ugly-ugly]].|'''''[[The Simpsons (animation)|The Simpsons]]''''', "Pygmoelian"}}

'''Producer''': I wanted Mary Ann on ''[[Gilligan's Island]]'' ugly, not Cornelius on ''[[Planet of the Apes]]'' ugly. TV-ugly, not ... [[The Grotesque|ugly-ugly]].|'''''[[The Simpsons (animation)|The Simpsons]]''''', "Pygmoelian"}}

Dramatic situations sometimes require a character (usually female) who is unappealing, unattractive, and has a hard time finding dates. However, unattractive or even average-looking women are often dissuaded from even trying to get acting jobs in Hollywood, so the person cast in the role ends up being more gorgeous than anybody you'll ever meet in real life. Likewise, producers know that "beauty is money," and so they're disinclined to cast ''genuinely'' unattractive people even as villains or extras, but would rather simply ''imply'' homeliness to the character via character-reactions—regardless of the irony presented in attributing such to the fairly good-looking person playing the role.

Line 17:

Line 16:

Compare [[Beautiful All Along]], [[Cool Loser]], [[Hollywood Dateless]], [[Hollywood Nerd]], [[Hollywood Pudgy]]. Contrast [[Informed Attractiveness]] and [[Gorgeous Gorgon]].

Please keep in mind that this trope only applies if the character is actively stated to be or treated as unattractive. A handsome actor playing a geek doesn't count if nobody on the show has a problem with his looks. Similarly, a good-looking actor who is actually made less attractive is an aversion of this trope.

== Advertising ==

* Microsoft. Sent up in the Windows 7 "My Idea" series of ads. When the normal people in question flashback to having their idea, they're ''always'' portrayed by someone several times prettier than them by Hollywood standards, while an angelic chorus plays in the background. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLAO9YnlJSU Such as this one], where a fairly pretty woman is portrayed by an absolute ''stunner''.

* [[Microsoft]]. Sent up in the Windows 7 "My Idea" series of ads. When the normal people in question flashback to having their idea, they're ''always'' portrayed by someone several times prettier than them by Hollywood standards, while an angelic chorus plays in the background. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLAO9YnlJSU Such as this one], where a fairly pretty woman is portrayed by an absolute ''stunner''.

* Teleflora. The theme in their 2010 Super Bowl commercial is ''supposed'' to be "Hot but bitchy girl gets the bad flowers; frumpy but [[Plucky Office Girl|hard-working girl]] gets the good flowers." Apparently, "frumpy" now means "not willing to wear short skirts and go-go boots to work".

* In its early days, the [[Disney Channel]] used to run a PSA that was all over this trope. A very attractive teenager is sitting in front of a poster of a pop star, lamenting how plain and unattractive she is. The pop star springs to life from the poster and tells the girl that she shouldn't worry, because it's all Hollywood magic. The pop star is then magically stripped of all the makeup, fancy clothes, etc, and reduced to being... really attractive. And the teenager is reassured. [[Broken Aesop|About something.]]