I blame Judd Apatow and Kevin Smith. I hated Knocked Up and Zack and Miri Make a Porno was the last straw. I’m tired of movies and shows about beautiful girls and dorky, nerdy, adorable, funny… but not conventionally attractive guys. (Sorry Seth Rogen.) Where are the beautiful guys and the girls who are loveable beyond – or even despite – their looks?
I’d like to take a minute to celebrate the select movies and shows that turn this paradigm on its head. I’m not arguing about whether Brad Pitt or Angelina Jolie is more beautiful. In these movies, the women are definitely not conventional beauties – and they get the guy anyway. (Warning: spoilers ahead!)
10. Shallow Hal (2001)
Hal (Jack Black) dates only beautiful women until he’s hypnotized to see only inner beauty. And so he falls for Rosemary (Gwyneth Paltrow), an obese woman who seems to him a vision of loveliness. Jack Black isn’t a typical beauty himself, but the movie gets points for the message about women’s inner beauty. 9. 40 Carats (1973)
40-year-old Ann Stanley (Liv Ullman), vacationing in Greece, meets and spends the night with 22-year-old Peter Latham (Edward Albert). When she returns to New York, she is stunned to learn that he is her daughter’s boyfriend… But Peter wants the older woman! Turning the usual age relations upside down, this is a May-December romance you can really root for. 8. Shrek (2001)
When Lord Farquaad banishes a horde of fairytale creatures to the swamp, Shrek the ogre’s quiet is disturbed. Farquaad agrees to take back the order if Shrek rescues Princess Fiona from a dragon-guarded castle. And so Shrek discovers that Fiona is a beautiful girl by day but an ogress by night. A kiss from her true love, Shrek, restores her true form… an ogress! While Shrek is just as green and tubby as Fiona, this innovative fairytale does turn the typical love and beauty ending on its head - and won an Oscar for Best Animated Feature too. 7. Mrs Brown (1997)
The aged Queen Victoria (Judy Dench) is deeply depressed after the death of her husband. Mr. Brown (Billy Connolly), a vigorous Scottish Highlander, gains the Queen’s favor as her household servant - and gradually restores her to life with admiration and affection. But this cross-class relationship creates a scandal that threatens Queen Victoria’s reign. 6. Ugly Betty (2006 ongoing)
Based on a Colombian telenovela “Yo Soy Betty La Fea,” this ABC show features smart, sweet Betty Suarez (America Ferrera) from Queens who doesn’t fit in with her skinny, pretty coworkers at Mode, the fashion magazine where she works. Yet she wins the respect - and admiration - of many in the cutthroat fashion world. 5. Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001)
Renee Zellwegger reportedly gained 20 pounds for her role as a single woman who smokes, drinks, and tends to blurt whatever comes to mind. Yet her goofy charm and good heart win Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant)’s brief attention and Mark Darcy (Colin Firth)’s love. 4. Cactus Flower (1969)
To avoid marrying his flighty younger girlfriend, Jill (Goldie Hawn), bachelor-dentist Julian (Walter Matthau) asks his dowdy receptionist, Stephanie (Ingrid Bergman), to pretend to be his wife. Stephanie surprises everyone by coming out of her shell - and capturing Julian’s heart. Adapted from a hit Broadway play, this comedy earned Goldie Hawn a Best Supporting Actress Oscar. 3. Something’s Gotta Give (2003)
Harry Sanborn (Jack Nicholson) is an aging music exec with a taste for younger women. When he suffers a heart attack at the house of his girlfriend’s mother, Erica (Diane Keaton), the older woman catches his eye. But Harry’s young doctor (Keanu Reeves) is also attracted to Erica… 2. Muriel’s Wedding (1994)
In Porpoise Spit, Australia, ugly duckling Muriel (Toni Collette) sits at home listening to Abba music and dreaming of her wedding day. Only she’s never had a date. So she steals her mother’s credit card, heads for the big city - and ends up in a marriage of convenience to a hot Olympic hopeful swimmer. She wins his admiration but in the end, Muriel returns to the people she truly cares about. 1. Funny Girl (1968)
Barbra Streisand made a big-screen career of playing offbeat-looking women who win men and success – but not necessarily a happy ending. This one won her an Oscar for Best Actress. The story of homely Fannie Brice, from her beginnings in poor Jewish New York to her rise as a comedienne with the Ziegfeld Follies and marriage to handsome gambler Nick Arnstein (Omar Sharif).
It seems like almost always, women in media have to be beautiful while men can be smart or charming instead. If you have more ideas on the reverse, please add below!
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