Ugly Betty: Season One

We live in a culture that all but worships beauty. All it takes is a quick look at the newsstand or any television shows and you will see that beautiful people are given a status far above us mere mortals. In more recent years people have become rich and famous only for their looks; talent is a distant second if it is there at all. One television series has taken a stand and gives long over due attention to a young woman who would never be on the cover of a fashion magazine; ‘Ugly Betty’. Based on the popular Colombian telenovela Yo soy Betty, la fea ("I am Betty, the ugly one"), series creator Silvio Horta along with actress turned executive producer Salma Hayek brings the story of a young woman who makes it in a very judgmental world. As a father of a daughter I have to applaud this series for the positive and realistic feminine role model it provides. As a life long fan of television I have to admire the wit and humor each episode contains. This series has an important social message but it is never heavy handed. Instead of hitting the audience over the head with the point that beauty is only skin deep, it uses heartfelt humor to show us just how superficial our culture has become. When you compare this series to other network hits like ‘Desperate Housewives’ or ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ who would think that America is populated solely but beautiful women and trim, buff men. Betty demonstrates that even those without exceptional looks, either through a happenstance of nature or the doctor’s scalpel, are people worth watching.

Betty Suarez (America Ferrera) wants to work in the publishing industry but so far has not met with much success. She was just rejected from Meade Publishing, the owners of very famous fashion magazines. The reason was not her ability but her looks. Betty tends to wear frumpy dresses. With her bodiless hair and bright red eyeglasses she is not what a person working for fashion should look like. To make matters worse Betty sports bright blue braces that her ever present smile shows off. Betty’s fortune changes due to a rather unusual set of circumstances. Bradford Meade (Alan Dale), owner of Meade Publications wants to groom his son Daniel (Eric Mabius) to be able to take over the business. The thing is Daniel is a womanizer of epic proportions. He has the nasty habit of bedding his close employees, something that does not sit well with dad. To remove temptation from his son’s path he hires Betty to be his assistant. Since Daniel didn’t hire Betty he can’t fire her so he decides to make life as miserable as possible for the earnest young woman. Betty has to put up with anything her boss can dish out since she is the bread winner for her family which includes her father Ignacio (Tony Plana), her sister Hilda (Ana Ortiz) and young nephew Justin (Mark Indelicato). Hilda is a bit of a floozy; fighting her son’s deadbeat dad. Much to the dismay of the family Justin is just a little too interested in fashion and dance.

With temptation out of the way and Daniel able to concentrate on business he and Betty are soon a success. Betty is bright and insightful always there to pull her boss out of difficult situations. This makes both of them, but especially Betty, a target for Creative Director Wilhelmina Slater (Vanessa Williams), who was pasted over for Daniel’s position. Also dead set against Betty is the receptionist Amanda Tanen (Becki Newton) who was counting on getting Betty’s job. Wilhelmina is typically above doing the dirty work herself. She leaves that to her assistant, Marc St. James (Michael Urie), who is more than happy to make Betty’s life miserable. The only one at work that Betty befriends is one of the seamstresses Christina McKinney (Ashley Jensen), who hopes to someday have her own fashion line. On the wacky side of the cast is Daniel’s transgender sibling Alexis (Rebecca Romijn) and his over the top mother, Claire (Judith Light). Betty has to deal with more than just the pressure at work. At home there is an immigration problem that requires the need for an attorney Leah Stillman (Debi Mazar). Instead of helping the Suarez family she winds up bilking them out of their money. By default the family has to turn to a court appointed lawyer, Constance Grady (Octavia Spencer). There is a bight spot for Betty in the form of co-worker Henry Grubstick (Christopher Gorham). She has a crush on him but inadvertently witnessed him kissing someone else at a company party.

If all this sounds a bit like a soap opera you’re right. Since it was based on a telenovela these aspects are to be expected. You have to embrace the inner soap and by doing so you will have a lot of fun watching the show. There is a reason soap operas have been so popular with many running for decades, they are addictively enjoyable. The same holds here. You have love interests, conspiracies, and even a masked woman to create imaginative if not implausible plots. At its heart this is a traditional under dog tale. Betty is someone everyone can identify with, not just the girls watching. Most men have been in a position at work where they had to protect their jobs. They will be able to empathize with the plight that Betty often is placed. Still, the most important segment of the audience is the young girls. It is about time they see someone who may not have the beauty queen looks as the protagonist. Betty is able to cope with her intelligence, her perception and most importantly her heart. Executive producer Salma Hayek knows this position well. She is without doubt one of the most beautiful women in the world. She is also smart, funny and talented. One of her most acclaimed roles in her career was in Frieda where she sported a hairy upper lip and uni-brow. A large part of the success of this series is that it is a personal matter for Hayek.

I have been a fan of America Ferrera since her first film, ‘Real Woman have Curves’. She demonstrated a degree of talent that is amazing especially consider her tender years. Here is an actress who combines wit and dramatic flair in a series that fully demonstrates her considerable talent. Ironically, it takes a few hours in makeup to transform this pretty, curvy yo0ung woman into Betty. Like her character what shines here is the way she presents her character. Betty is not a one dimensional character. She is a fully developed human being with hopes, fears and dreams. Ferrera gets the audience to root for Betty and laugh with her not at her. Vanessa Williams is a gem here. She portrays her character with a delicious villainy. Williams makes Wilhelmina so evil you have to love her performance. She is the female version of Gary Oldman, the bad guy that is so over the top you can’t wait to see what happens next.

Disney / Buena Vista have some of the most popular television series currently in production. Their line up has such ratings giants as ‘Lost’, ‘Desperate Housewives’ and ‘Grey’s Anatomy’, ‘Ugly Betty’ is certainly in great company but stands out as one of the more endearing members of the Disney family. As with the aforementioned series Disney presents this one on DVD with flair and some imaginative extras. The anamorphic 1.78:1 video is excellent. The color palette is among the best I have seen in a long while. The Dolby 5.1 audio fills the room but is never overpowering. Select episodes have cast and crew commentaries that reflect just how much fun they have bringing this series to the public. There is a featurette about what it means to become Betty. The hardworking makeup artists have their hands full each shooting day to transform Ferrera into the frumpy Betty. There is another featurette that details the work required to simulate the very specific locations of Manhattan and Queens. In another segment the inner workings of the made up magazine, Mode, is explored. Filling things out are some deleted scenes, just for good measure. This is truly a series that the whole family can enjoy. One little caution though, some scenes may be a little bit too much for the very young viewers. Get this and enjoy it; you will not be sorry.

Posted 08/20/07