You don’t need to tell me how hot Rechel Leigh Cook is. I know, she’s beautiful. That’s why, when we see her all geeked up, we can say to the guy, “you’re missing something here,” and when he finally does see her charms, we can say “told you so, you lucky bastard.”
If the character was played by someone we felt indifferent about, or, worse, that we found completely unattractive, we wouldn’t be able to relate. For instance, this was a (small) problem I found in the BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. Jane is meant to be a stunning beauty, but I thought the actress that played Jane was very unattractive. It slightly diminished the drama for me, because I couldn’t relate to the other characters, who found Jane very attractive.
In my opinion, one actress who really pulls off the ugly-hot chick well is Julia Stiles. But she really sells the tomboy attitude approach where there is a lot of sarcasm and scornful looks flying around. See Ten Things I Hate About You as a reference.
I can’t believe that no-one has mentioned The Truth About Cats and Dogs yet. Janeane Garafolo is Hollywood’s idea of homely? :rolleyes: I mean Uma Thurman is good-looking enough, but her character’s personality in that movie is enough to make J.G. look fantastic by comparison (and I think she’s pretty good-looking to begin with).
I didn’t get kissed until I was 19, and that was due to dumb luck and Christian Bros. brandy. The next time I kissed someone after that was when I was 21, and I’m not that bad looking guy, I was just very insecure.
gex gex - I believe I read something about the adaptation of Pride and Prejudice which mentioned that the person they used to play Jane would’ve been considered extremely attractive during that time period. Styles change. If you consider the period portraits to see the ideal beauty, you’ll see what I’m talking about. Besides, as far as Jane was concerned, a large part of her attractiveness was also her sweet, biddable temperment, much desired in a wife. She was neither sharp, as Miss Elizabeth Bennett was; nor flighty, as Misses Lydia and Kitty were; and she wasn’t the plain, prudish bookworm that Miss Mary Bennett was. She was, for that time, the ideal woman.
Yeah, but that doesn’t count, 'cause you’re a guy. People only care if a gal doesn’t get kissed as a teen-ager. You see, women who are romantically unsuccessful are a great weepy tragedy worthy of national attention, but men who are romantically unsuccessful are just comic sidekicks to be laughed at and scorned.