# The beautiful and the ugly **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 15, 2013, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-beautiful-and-the-ugly/674023 "2013-11-15T23:39:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2013, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-beautiful-and-the-ugly/674023/1 "2013-11-15T23:39:41Z")
How many stories (books, movies, tv, operas, etc.) are there, about a beautiful woman and a homely man? I can think of: _Beauty and the Beast Cyrano de Bergerac Phantom of the Opera The Hunchback of Notre Dome_ How many others are there? And are there any same-sex pairings? Oh, and the only one I can think of that has a beautiful man and a homely woman is Sondheim’s _Passion._ Any others? ---
**Author:** ![Rollo\_Tomasi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/58956e/32.png) [@Rollo\_Tomasi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rollo_Tomasi)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2013, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-beautiful-and-the-ugly/674023/2 "2013-11-16T00:00:52Z")
Depending on your definition of “homely man,” a bunch of recent sitcoms probably qualify: **The King of Queens** , **Still Standing** , **Modern Family** , **According to Jim** , etc. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2013, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-beautiful-and-the-ugly/674023/3 "2013-11-16T00:03:18Z")
**Impromptu** - I.e., the story of Fredric Chopin (Hugh Grant) and George Sand (a woman played by Judy Davis who dressed like a man)…? ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2013, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-beautiful-and-the-ugly/674023/4 "2013-11-16T00:10:34Z")
**Harold and Maude** , kinda sorta. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2013, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-beautiful-and-the-ugly/674023/5 "2013-11-16T02:43:51Z")
Don’t forget about **Shrek**. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2013, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-beautiful-and-the-ugly/674023/6 "2013-11-16T03:20:00Z")
Bride of Frankenstein ---
**Author:** ![Albert\_Rose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9de053/32.png) [@Albert\_Rose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Albert_Rose)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2013, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-beautiful-and-the-ugly/674023/7 "2013-11-16T03:42:04Z")
Charlotte Bronte’s **Jane Eyre** , sort of. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2013, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-beautiful-and-the-ugly/674023/8 "2013-11-16T03:49:41Z")
_Edward Scissorhands_ > [@panache45](#): > > Oh, and the only one I can think of that has a beautiful man and a homely woman is Sondheim’s _Passion._ Any others? _[Penelope](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0472160/)_, a movie starring Christina Ricci, is a kind of _Beauty and the Beast_ story with the genders reversed. ---
**Author:** ![Inna\_Minnit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Inna\_Minnit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inna_Minnit)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2013, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-beautiful-and-the-ugly/674023/9 "2013-11-16T04:44:40Z")
> [@Tangent](#): > > _Edward Scissorhands_ There isn’t enough makeup to make Johnny Depp ugly. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2013, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-beautiful-and-the-ugly/674023/10 "2013-11-16T04:48:00Z")
Do they have to be together? Because they certainly weren’t in the Hunchback and such, especially non-Disneyfied. He loves her, in a creepy way, at least. _Living in Oblivion_, although it’s unrequited, and Steve Buscemi has other qualities I guess. Speaking of Steve, _Ghost World_, although it’s more platonic. For that matter, Living in Oblivion was the first role of a certain someone in _Game of Thrones_. While Peter Dinklage isn’t bad to look at, Tyrion is frequently described as ugly. ---
**Author:** ![Becky2844](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Becky2844](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Becky2844)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2013, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-beautiful-and-the-ugly/674023/11 "2013-11-16T04:52:06Z")
My Funny Valentine. The Way We Were. …both Barbra Striesand?! (sp) But she is a beautiful woman, just not traditionally so. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2013, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-beautiful-and-the-ugly/674023/12 "2013-11-16T04:57:14Z")
> [@Becky2844](#): > > My Funny Valentine. The Way We Were. …both Barbra Striesand?! (sp) But she is a beautiful woman, just not traditionally so. _Hello, Dolly._ Walter Matthau and Babs. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2013, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-beautiful-and-the-ugly/674023/13 "2013-11-16T05:02:46Z")
In _Mask_, Eric Stoltz played a deformed boy who falls in love with a blind girl, who was played by the quite fetching Laura Dern. ---
**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:** [November 17, 2013, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-beautiful-and-the-ugly/674023/14 "2013-11-17T03:27:29Z")
In Mercedes Lackey’s _Arrows of the Queen_ trilogy, there’s a strong love interest story between the beautiful main character, Talia, and a rather homely man named Dirk. Then there’s Frodo & Sam… ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2013, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-beautiful-and-the-ugly/674023/15 "2013-11-17T03:58:55Z")
Any romantic comedy starring Tom Hanks. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2013, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-beautiful-and-the-ugly/674023/16 "2013-11-17T04:05:12Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > Then there’s Frodo & Sam… It’s also the love of an ugly creature for a beautiful, ageless ring. _The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly_ I presume is about the homely Tuco having an affair with Dagwood’s wife, right? ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2013, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-beautiful-and-the-ugly/674023/17 "2013-11-17T04:07:13Z")
Hitch. ---
**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:** [November 17, 2013, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-beautiful-and-the-ugly/674023/18 "2013-11-17T04:41:13Z")
_Who Framed Roger Rabbit?_ I’m talking about Bob Hoskins and Joanna Cassidy, not Jessica & Roger, because rabbit. ---
**Author:** ![bleach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bleach/32/3106_2.png) [@bleach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bleach)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2013, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-beautiful-and-the-ugly/674023/19 "2013-11-19T20:38:58Z")
_Shallow Hal_, kinda. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-beautiful-and-the-ugly/674023/20 "2013-11-22T17:26:44Z")
_King Kong_. “Twas beauty that killed the beast.”