# "Awkward best friends" that aren't **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 5, 2013, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/awkward-best-friends-that-arent/662691 "2013-07-05T04:52:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![installLSC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/54ee81/32.png) [@installLSC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/installLSC)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2013, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/awkward-best-friends-that-arent/662691/1 "2013-07-05T04:52:37Z")
I was watching a “Gidget” marathon today. In the show Gidget was the beautiful girl all the boys wanted, while her best friend Larue was the homely, awkward girl that was a dud with the opposite sex. Definately a classic teen pairing. But when you see [the two of them](http://www.sitcomsonline.com/photopost/data/761/Gidget71LynetteWinter-Larue.jpg) [together](http://www.sitcomsonline.com/photopost/data/761/bfc4.JPG), the difference between the two is small if it exists at all. What movies or TV shows have a “awkward best friend” that in real life wouldn’t be awkward at all? ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2013, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/awkward-best-friends-that-arent/662691/2 "2013-07-05T05:18:05Z")
I’m not sure what you are saying. There are a lot of people who are reasonably attractive yet feel themselves unattractive and freeze up when meeting a person of the opposite sex. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2013, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/awkward-best-friends-that-arent/662691/3 "2013-07-05T07:06:27Z")
Hollywood 2nd fiddle. Nothing new about it, even then. ---
**Author:** ![Harvey\_The\_Heavy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Harvey\_The\_Heavy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harvey_The_Heavy)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2013, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/awkward-best-friends-that-arent/662691/4 "2013-07-05T10:25:50Z")
[Let’s just get it over with.](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/HollywoodHomely) ---
**Author:** ![sandra\_nz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@sandra\_nz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sandra_nz)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2013, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/awkward-best-friends-that-arent/662691/5 "2013-07-05T10:41:14Z")
> [@Harvey\_The\_Heavy](#): > > [Let’s just get it over with.](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/HollywoodHomely) Well now. That’s my productivity for today down to zero… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2013, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/awkward-best-friends-that-arent/662691/6 "2013-07-05T12:04:43Z")
> [@installLSC](#): > > What movies or TV shows have a “awkward best friend” that in real life wouldn’t be awkward at all? The one I remember most vividly was Denise (Toni Hudson) from “Just One Of The Guys” starring Joyce Hyser. Denise, a sultry-voiced blonde waif with dry wit, grouses the entire film about how she can’t get a date - the beginning of my youthful cynicism on this subject. The most recent I witnessed was the pilot of “The New Girl” where lead actress Deschanel plays the awkward, dateless buddy to her model friend who moves in with a bunch of guys (I haven’t seen it since). Zooey Deschanel? Her breakout role as an actress was playing a model! ---
**Author:** ![Sudden\_Kestrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecd19e/32.png) [@Sudden\_Kestrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sudden_Kestrel)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2013, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/awkward-best-friends-that-arent/662691/7 "2013-07-05T13:50:42Z")
Even back in the '70s I wondered why _The Mary Tyler Moore Show_ portrayed Rhoda as the fat, unattractive friend. Her weight was well within normal range and she was quite pretty, very funny, and had that wonderful accent. (Trust me, Minnesotans would have found it exotic.) ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2013, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/awkward-best-friends-that-arent/662691/8 "2013-07-05T14:02:09Z")
I had a crush on Kimmy Gibbler. You can keep that D.J. Tanner and her annoying family. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2013, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/awkward-best-friends-that-arent/662691/9 "2013-07-05T15:35:01Z")
The movie \*\*\*The Truth About Cats and Dogs \*\*\*was based on the assumption that Uma Thurman is every man’s dream girl, every man’s idea of perfect beauty… while her pal, poor Janine Garofalo is the smart and funny but fat ugly and girl that no man would ever be interested in. In reality, while I certainly DO find Uma Thurman attractive, she is NOT classically beautiful. She has very irregular features. And Janine was neither fat NOR unattractive. I don’t think most straight men would have found EITHER of them unappealing, which sort of undermines the whole premise. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Shine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr_shine/32/464_2.png) [@Mr\_Shine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Shine)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2013, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/awkward-best-friends-that-arent/662691/10 "2013-07-05T15:41:00Z")
> [@installLSC](#): > > I was watching a “Gidget” marathon today. In the show Gidget was the beautiful girl all the boys wanted, while her best friend Larue was the homely, awkward girl that was a dud with the opposite sex. Definately a classic teen pairing. But when you see [the two of them](http://www.sitcomsonline.com/photopost/data/761/Gidget71LynetteWinter-Larue.jpg) [together](http://www.sitcomsonline.com/photopost/data/761/bfc4.JPG), the difference between the two is small if it exists at all. What movies or TV shows have a “awkward best friend” that in real life wouldn’t be awkward at all? Not having heard of the show, I can say honestly I don’t know which one is “the beautiful girl all the boys wanted” and which one is “the homely, awkward girl that was a dud with the opposite sex” from those pictures, couldn’t even make a guess that I’d consider 55% likely. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2013, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/awkward-best-friends-that-arent/662691/11 "2013-07-06T01:45:13Z")
Not really on topic, but the girl on the left in the [second photo](http://www.sitcomsonline.com/photopost/data/761/bfc4.JPG) was a young [Bonnie Franklin](http://a.abcnews.com/images/US/gty_bonnie_franklin_ll_130301_wg.jpg). Wasn’t Andrea Zuckerman (Gabrielle Carteris) supposed to be the homely one in the first Beverly Hills 90210. I mean, [she had glasses and everything](http://i46.tinypic.com/w99184.jpg). That’s always a dead giveaway. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2013, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/awkward-best-friends-that-arent/662691/12 "2013-07-06T02:14:40Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > I had a crush on Kimmy Gibbler. You can keep that D.J. Tanner and her annoying family. And you should continue your crush, because [Andrea Barber](https://twitter.com/andreabarber/status/320587148862574593) seems really nice. ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2013, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/awkward-best-friends-that-arent/662691/13 "2013-07-06T02:33:18Z")
> [@installLSC](#): > > I was watching a “Gidget” marathon today. In the show Gidget was the beautiful girl all the boys wanted, while her best friend Larue was the homely, awkward girl that was a dud with the opposite sex. Definately a classic teen pairing. But when you see [the two of them](http://www.sitcomsonline.com/photopost/data/761/Gidget71LynetteWinter-Larue.jpg) [together](http://www.sitcomsonline.com/photopost/data/761/bfc4.JPG), the difference between the two is small if it exists at all. What movies or TV shows have a “awkward best friend” that in real life wouldn’t be awkward at all? I wouldn’t say the difference between them is small. Young Sally Field there is the definition of ‘cute’. The other girl isn’t quite ‘homely’ or ‘plain’ but she is a tad ‘funny looking’, though I bet it’s mostly just how she’s made-up. > [@kunilou](#): > > Not really on topic, but the girl on the left in the [second photo](http://www.sitcomsonline.com/photopost/data/761/bfc4.JPG) was a young [Bonnie Franklin](http://a.abcnews.com/images/US/gty_bonnie_franklin_ll_130301_wg.jpg). The one in navy blue?! She looks surprisingly unattractive there. Old and shrewish even! ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2013, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/awkward-best-friends-that-arent/662691/14 "2013-07-06T02:44:42Z")
Willow, on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Kaylee, on Firefly. ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2013, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/awkward-best-friends-that-arent/662691/15 "2013-07-06T04:36:14Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > Willow, on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. > > Kaylee, on Firefly. I’ve give you Willow, but Kaylee was never presented that way. She was less glamorous than Inara and Zoe and knew it, but seemed comfortable in her own feminine wiles. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2013, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/awkward-best-friends-that-arent/662691/16 "2013-07-06T04:44:50Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > Willow, on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. [Things you might not know…](http://v.theonion.com/onionmedia/videos/videometa/88/zen_mp4.mp4) ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2013, 8:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/awkward-best-friends-that-arent/662691/17 "2013-07-06T08:39:18Z")
> [@Mr\_Shine](#): > > Not having heard of the show, I can say honestly I don’t know which one is “the beautiful girl all the boys wanted” and which one is “the homely, awkward girl that was a dud with the opposite sex” from those pictures, couldn’t even make a guess that I’d consider 55% likely. In the [first picture](http://www.sitcomsonline.com/photopost/data/761/Gidget71LynetteWinter-Larue.jpg), Gidget, played by an 18 year old Sally Field, is the one on the right. Larue, played by Lynette Winter, is the sad-faced girl with the prominent nose on the left. In the [second photo](http://www.sitcomsonline.com/photopost/data/761/bfc4.JPG), Gidget is second from right and Larue is on the right. Agreed, she was not unattractive, but this was at a time when Sally Field was considered the smashingly beautiful girl next door. ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2013, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/awkward-best-friends-that-arent/662691/18 "2013-07-06T11:09:09Z")
> [@Mr\_Shine](#): > > Not having heard of the show, I can say honestly I don’t know which one is “the beautiful girl all the boys wanted” and which one is “the homely, awkward girl that was a dud with the opposite sex” from those pictures, couldn’t even make a guess that I’d consider 55% likely. The picture is definitely an archetype of its time. Field has cute, round ‘chip monk’ cheeks, her hair is down, and most importantly she’s constantly smiling. When I look at that second picture, I’d say the hottest one is the one in red, between Field & Franklin. Rather than having any ‘exaggerated’ features she’s got a very modern, symmetrical, natural, beautiful ‘model-type’ look. ---
**Author:** ![expectopatronum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/expectopatronum/32/173_2.png) [@expectopatronum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/expectopatronum)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2013, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/awkward-best-friends-that-arent/662691/19 "2013-07-07T02:18:48Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > Wasn’t Andrea Zuckerman (Gabrielle Carteris) supposed to be the homely one in the first Beverly Hills 90210. I mean, [she had glasses and everything](http://i46.tinypic.com/w99184.jpg). That’s always a dead giveaway. she’s not really presented that way, no. she was more like a go-getter who couldn’t be bothered to worry about her appearance. she has a couple of moments of being jealous of kelly(the lead blonde prom queen type), but she had plenty of boyfriends and almost slept with two of the male leads. i don’t think anything is really said about her appearance except a couple of times when she dresses up and they’re all “wow, she looks great” or whatever. they did put in her some terrible outfits, though. ---
**Author:** ![moriah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b2d939/32.png) [@moriah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moriah)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2013, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/awkward-best-friends-that-arent/662691/20 "2013-07-07T06:00:59Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > Larue, played by Lynette Winter, is the sad-faced girl with the prominent nose on the left. I wouldn’t say it’s ‘prominent’ except by Hollywood / Southern LA standards. It’s not ‘cute’ (IOW, skinny). And it’s impossible to be Hollywood pretty without a skinny nose. Just look at how some of the yahoos on this board make fun of Sarah Jessica Parker calling her horse face because of her not-Hollywood-cute nose. Of course, if you’re a Hollywood starlet, [be careful of coveting a skinny nose.](http://www.cracked.com/article_20500_6-insane-reasons-formerly-famous-people-dropped-off-map_p2.html) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/awkward-best-friends-that-arent/662691.md?page=2)