# Movies where dorky, not-conventionally-attractive girl gets the guy of her dreams? (Spoilers OK) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 1, 2010, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-dorky-not-conventionally-attractive-girl-gets-the-guy-of-her-dreams-spoilers-ok/523325 "2010-01-01T20:49:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Gorgon\_Heap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f475e1/32.png) [@Gorgon\_Heap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorgon_Heap)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2010, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-dorky-not-conventionally-attractive-girl-gets-the-guy-of-her-dreams-spoilers-ok/523325/81 "2010-01-03T18:11:20Z")
**spoke-** , isn’t that the point of the thread? She’s nothing special but the A-listers want her. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2010, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-dorky-not-conventionally-attractive-girl-gets-the-guy-of-her-dreams-spoilers-ok/523325/82 "2010-01-03T18:26:14Z")
That’s what I’m saying. ---
**Author:** ![Gorgon\_Heap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f475e1/32.png) [@Gorgon\_Heap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorgon_Heap)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2010, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-dorky-not-conventionally-attractive-girl-gets-the-guy-of-her-dreams-spoilers-ok/523325/83 "2010-01-03T18:31:49Z")
Oh. Sorry. Well, bully for our agreement, then. ---
**Author:** ![Mrs.Cake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2acd7d/32.png) [@Mrs.Cake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mrs.Cake)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2010, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-dorky-not-conventionally-attractive-girl-gets-the-guy-of-her-dreams-spoilers-ok/523325/84 "2010-01-03T18:44:40Z")
I submit _Raiders of the Lost Ark_, Karen Allen is very tomboyish and non-glamorous, but gets Indiana Jones just by being herself. Even when they put her in white satin, she looks like the kid sister playing dress-up. Really added to both characters and losing that kind of dynamic was one of many things that disappointed me about the next two Indiana Jones movies (I didn’t see the latest). ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2010, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-dorky-not-conventionally-attractive-girl-gets-the-guy-of-her-dreams-spoilers-ok/523325/85 "2010-01-03T18:46:46Z")
> [@Mrs.Cake](#): > > I submit _Raiders of the Lost Ark_, Karen Allen is very tomboyish and non-glamorous, but gets Indiana Jones just by being herself. Even when they put her in white satin, she looks like the kid sister playing dress-up. Really added to both characters and losing that kind of dynamic was one of many things that disappointed me about the next two Indiana Jones movies (I didn’t see the latest). Karen Allen is tomboyish? I think she looks hot no matter what she’s wearing! ---
**Author:** ![MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MPB_in_Salt_Lake)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2010, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-dorky-not-conventionally-attractive-girl-gets-the-guy-of-her-dreams-spoilers-ok/523325/86 "2010-01-03T19:03:47Z")
> [@Mrs.Cake](#): > > I submit _Raiders of the Lost Ark_, Karen Allen is very tomboyish and non-glamorous, but gets Indiana Jones just by being herself. Even when they put her in white satin, she looks like the kid sister playing dress-up. Really added to both characters and losing that kind of dynamic was one of many things that disappointed me about the next two Indiana Jones movies (I didn’t see the latest). Apparently Karen Allen became very fond of John Belushi when they met while filming “Animal House” She said he was a decent, sweet guy who looked after her like she was his little sister, and she tried to reach out to him later when he was fighting his demons. (and I always tought she was really attractive, in a tomboy sort of way) ---
**Author:** ![Sister\_Vigilante](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@Sister\_Vigilante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sister_Vigilante)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2010, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-dorky-not-conventionally-attractive-girl-gets-the-guy-of-her-dreams-spoilers-ok/523325/87 "2010-01-04T02:07:34Z")
Teen Wolf. Hello? ---
**Author:** ![miss\_elizabeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/838e76/32.png) [@miss\_elizabeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/miss_elizabeth)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2010, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-dorky-not-conventionally-attractive-girl-gets-the-guy-of-her-dreams-spoilers-ok/523325/88 "2010-01-04T16:30:28Z")
> [@Gorgon\_Heap](#): > > _Originally posted by **miss elizabeth** _ > > Whaaah? Ok, for starters all my friends and I have discussed this and we all agree Maggie G. is so completely non-special we can’t understand what Hollywood sees in her. I think she fits the thread very well in practically _everything_ she’s ever been in. > > However … you think “Secretary” is a romantic film? One of us has the wrong idea about what “romance” is, but I can’t actually decide which I find more appealing. What isn’t romantic about it? It follows every trope, admittedly in a way you don’t usually see, but its a totally formulaic love story/ romance plot. A damaged lonely girl finds the man of her dreams and wins him over with the power of her love and dedication, they live happily ever after, The End. What isn’t romantic about that? It it because she has great sex? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2010, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-dorky-not-conventionally-attractive-girl-gets-the-guy-of-her-dreams-spoilers-ok/523325/89 "2010-01-04T16:44:13Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > That film is a perfect example of Hollywood’s bizarre idea of “unattractive”. Janeane Garofalo was damned cute in that film - more attractive (to me) than Uma Thurman. I think Uma Thurman looks like a face painted on an egg. ---
**Author:** ![Electric\_Warrior](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@Electric\_Warrior](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Electric_Warrior)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2010, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-dorky-not-conventionally-attractive-girl-gets-the-guy-of-her-dreams-spoilers-ok/523325/90 "2010-01-05T16:40:25Z")
Just remembered another one myself! In _Legally Blonde_, Paulette is extremely awkward and shy, but she ends up with her crush, the hot UPS guy. According to the epilogue text, they have a child together. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Scrivener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@The\_Scrivener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Scrivener)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2010, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-dorky-not-conventionally-attractive-girl-gets-the-guy-of-her-dreams-spoilers-ok/523325/91 "2010-01-05T21:08:34Z")
She’s only a supporting character, but Hugh Grant’s sister in \*Four Weddings & a Funeral \*ends up with a tall, dark, handsome, charming Texan. But I’ll raise a champagne flute to almost any trans-Atlantic pairing. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2010, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-dorky-not-conventionally-attractive-girl-gets-the-guy-of-her-dreams-spoilers-ok/523325/92 "2010-01-06T00:39:45Z")
Pretty much any film with Michelle Meyrink. ---
**Author:** ![kevlaw](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kevlaw/32/2281_2.png) [@kevlaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kevlaw)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2010, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-dorky-not-conventionally-attractive-girl-gets-the-guy-of-her-dreams-spoilers-ok/523325/93 "2010-01-06T05:00:49Z")
> [@Gorgon\_Heap](#): > > we all agree Maggie G. is so completely non-special we can’t understand what Hollywood sees in her. I think Maggie G is completely gorgeous and anyone who says otherwise needs to step outside. For a believe and not-completely-gorgeous girl who gets the guy, you need to watch European - especially, British - movies. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2010, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-dorky-not-conventionally-attractive-girl-gets-the-guy-of-her-dreams-spoilers-ok/523325/94 "2010-01-06T06:57:02Z")
> [@kevlaw](#): > > For a believe and not-completely-gorgeous girl who gets the guy, you need to watch European - especially, British - movies. Oh! **Letter to Brezhnev**! ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2010, 9:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-dorky-not-conventionally-attractive-girl-gets-the-guy-of-her-dreams-spoilers-ok/523325/95 "2010-01-06T09:02:00Z")
One of my ex-coworkers would probably say _Bridget Jones Diary_. She told me she loved it ‘cuz she’s as dorky as me.’ Now I’m not a huge Zellweger fan, and think my coworker is pretty hot, so you go figure. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2010, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-dorky-not-conventionally-attractive-girl-gets-the-guy-of-her-dreams-spoilers-ok/523325/96 "2010-01-06T11:28:27Z")
> [@The\_Scrivener](#): > > She’s only a supporting character, but Hugh Grant’s sister in \*Four Weddings & a Funeral \*ends up with a tall, dark, handsome, charming Texan. > > But I’ll raise a champagne flute to almost any trans-Atlantic pairing. 🙂 Scarlett (The sadly late Charlotte Coleman) was his flatmate, not his sister. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2010, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-dorky-not-conventionally-attractive-girl-gets-the-guy-of-her-dreams-spoilers-ok/523325/97 "2010-01-06T12:29:55Z")
I’m still waiting for the movie of [Mortal Engines](http://us.vdc.imdb.com/title/tt1571234/) by Philip Reeve (there are the usual Internet rumors linking it to Peter Jackson). The female protagonist has a huge disfiguring scar across her face due to being attacked with a sword as a child, but she ends up with the handsome young (and hopelessly idealistic) male lead. It’s also noteworthy because Hester is a pretty nasty piece of work for a romantic interest, and kills a lot of people in the books (albeit _usually_ in self-defense). Sadly, I’m betting that Hollywood gives us someone with a cute scar and a bit of angst instead of the ruthless killer from the original books. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2010, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-dorky-not-conventionally-attractive-girl-gets-the-guy-of-her-dreams-spoilers-ok/523325/98 "2010-01-06T15:05:25Z")
Well, I consider myself corrected… Earlier in this thread I asserted that “dorky woman gets gorgeous guy” would not be common in films, because it’s less common in real life than the opposite. But now there has been a pretty good number of examples. And, incidentally, I wasn’t trying to imply that a woman could not make herself more attractive with personality or whatever. I just felt that it’s the kind of long-term relationship that many women _don’t want_ – they don’t want to have to win a guy over, and then have a relationship where they feel insecure. ---
**Author:** ![Electric\_Warrior](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@Electric\_Warrior](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Electric_Warrior)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2010, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-dorky-not-conventionally-attractive-girl-gets-the-guy-of-her-dreams-spoilers-ok/523325/99 "2010-01-06T23:08:40Z")
> [@outlierrn](#): > > One of my ex-coworkers would probably say _Bridget Jones Diary_. She told me she loved it ‘cuz she’s as dorky as me.’ Now I’m not a huge Zellweger fan, and think my coworker is pretty hot, so you go figure. Isn’t _Bridget Jones_ more ‘dorky-but-cute girl gets dorky-but-cute guy’ though, to be fair? ---
**Author:** ![Illuminatiprimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/illuminatiprimus/32/11520_2.png) [@Illuminatiprimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Illuminatiprimus)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2010, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-dorky-not-conventionally-attractive-girl-gets-the-guy-of-her-dreams-spoilers-ok/523325/100 "2010-01-06T23:14:53Z")
The book didn’t really depict Bridget as all that hot, but it certainly didn’t make her out to be unattractive either. Whether you personally think Zellweger is hot is kind of neither here nor there in that context. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-dorky-not-conventionally-attractive-girl-gets-the-guy-of-her-dreams-spoilers-ok/523325.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-dorky-not-conventionally-attractive-girl-gets-the-guy-of-her-dreams-spoilers-ok/523325.md?page=6)