'Ugly Betty' packs on the pounds for Fashion Week
Doesn't it feel like forever since watching the last Ugly Betty? I'm happy that our girl is back in her cheery form for the new year, ready to change the world, beginning with her workplace.
Spoilers with a minimum 18 BMI.
After giving Justin's class a tour of Mode, Betty is horrified by how the kids are so taken in by the skinny image presented by the media. So, major brain wave: use "healthy" models for fashion week! The benefits would be twofold: 1) Changing the perceived, unrealistic image of beauty and 2) Helping Daniel put his mark on his first fashion week without Wilhelmina to provide a great theme.
As the new president, however, Alexis puts her Size 11 stiletto down, and Daniel caves, deciding to use the usual skinny models but presenting them as "healthy" complete with a fake weigh-in with a rigged scale to make them seem heavier. Need we say it? Betty is very, very disappointed with her boy. He finally sees the light though, and hosts an alternate fashion show using regular Janes from around town, including Betty. The press eats it up, but only a few of Justin's cohorts are moved. Baby steps.
Meanwhile, Amanda is back on track trying to figure out who fathered her and consults the psychic Linda (Annie Potts) for clues. Linda's first prediction, that Amanda will rescue a black dog, comes true when she gets the elevator operational after Betty and rapper Bow Wow are trapped in it for a period of time.
The second prediction claims that she has to follow a bee that will give her a kiss that will reveal her dad. Amanda figures out that the "B" is Betty (from that necklace she always wears), and when Betty picks up a photo that has fallen on the floor, it's of Gene Simmons of, yep -- KISS.
Oh, but what about the scheming Wilhelmina? She's still attempting to create the next Meade heir, but her doctor says she'll need a gestational carrier -- a surrogate -- to carry the child to term because she has a "hostile womb." At first, she hires her seemingly bland yet fertile manicurist for the job, until it's revealed that she's a porn dominatrix.
But then Marc comes to the rescue and suggests our Scottish friend Christina, who's desperate for $100,000 to pay for her husband Stuart's experimental medication, which isn't covered by the Mode health insurance. Ah, but I wonder if they cover lasik?
Highlights:
- Betty, after hearing about the cheesecake-heroin diet: "I could totally stay on half that diet."
- Wilhelmina: "I've been hormo-tional."
- Amanda: "Hey, lady." Marc: "Hey, tramp."
- Justin: "Don't hate me because I'm a guy and burn 26 percent more calories."
- Betty, about the models she wants: "Normal, just not deathy."
- Bow Wow to Betty: "I like 'em freaky like you."
- Marc offering Christina comfort by stroking her with a mannequin arm.
Your thoughts? Is Gene Simmons really Amanda's dad? Will Christina accept Wil's offer?
the entire Marc/Amanda 'double entendre' conversation in the secret sex room was great.
Seeing Vanessa Williams' playing 'hormo-tional' was just spectacular.
I don't know which pairing I enjoy more: Marc/Amanda or Willie/Amanda. I've usually been in the Amanda camp, but seeing Vanessa Williams being given more comedy material this season has been great. Last year she always seemed to play the set up man to Marc's punchline, but tonight (especially) she seemed to deliver more punchlines than usual and I really liked the spin it put on the pair of them.
Don't get me wrong I still can't get enough of Marc/Amanda - well at least until they start to expand them beyond the 2-3 scenes/ep that they currently have (hopefully that never happens).
Not enough Henry, but I was still so glad to have Ugly Betty back! I particularly loved the lengthy discussion of code names for the secret fashion show, especially Daniel's summing up with "I'm Falcon."
The best was in the double entendre sequence when Amanda mispronounced Inuendo (In - ah - un - doo) and Marc gave her this look like "you really said that!"
The best was in the double entendre sequence when Amanda mispronounced Inuendo (In - ah - un - doo) and Marc gave her this look like "you really said that!"
Unfortunately, having worked with kids up to and including the ages of those in Justin's cl***, I've had to deal with tween girls worrying about their weight. As a male, it's extremely difficult to observe, much less do anything about, because on the one hand, you don't want to completely ignore the issue, but on the other, you don't want to come across as being a perv (as in, "Why is Mr. So-and-So interested in that girl's weight anyway?"). I am glad this episode addressed the problem, which is worse than people like to imagine. Sure, mags like Mode and the killed-at-the-starting-gate Slater are partially to blame, but as Alexis herself said, "The designers don't care about the models--they're just hangers for the clothes." Young girls, who don't have the worldview to understand the entire fashion industry, don't see it that way, however; this is why eating disorders exist even among 8-year-olds, especially if they are the daughters of parents (usually mothers, although I've heard of men giving their daughters hell for gaining a few pounds) who are obsessive about image above health. I just hope this is an ongoing theme on Ugly Betty, and not just a throwaway issue that was good enough for one show. Anyway, it was nice seeing "God" (can't think of the young actress's name, but she played one of the versions of God on Joan of Arcadia) doing something unlike her usual roles. She wasn't killing anyone on CSI, either. My favorite scenes were with Marc and Cliff in the "room behind the curtain" at the video store...great humor, especially Marc's listing of the contents of the shelves (and the later description of one of the movies they ended up renting); Daniel sitting on a floor-level stool at the meeting while Alexis talked around him; and Justin's near double entendre when he complained about Betty's explanations during the tour of the Mode offices: "I'm about to become their first boy!" One of those episodes I'll have to watch again, because I'm sure I missed a few other lines.
Such a good episode! I'm so glad to have had Betty back, even if it was for only one night...
Young betty was super adorable and Justin's new do is not working for me, but his character still slays me...
Amanda is still the QUEEN!! I don't think Gene Simmons is her father but Mary Jo from Designing Women did say that the kiss will lead you to your father, so I'm excited to see who that is...
Good on them for bringing the skinny model thing to the forefront. I agree that this is a huge problem/misconception for our young teens and I applaud the producers for using their success and popularity to touch on tough topics while maintaining hilarity!!
God I love Ugly Betty! Here's hoping the writer's strike is soon resolved!
Has anyone else noticed that America's slimmed down way too much for her character? She looked positively svelt on that catwalk.
And I so agree with Dark Disciple in hoping that they don't gloss over the young girls who have began starving themselves at age 8 to become more like their ideal super models - this is a very real serious problem. In the UK models who are a size 4 are described as being full figured. I well remember Rod Stewart's ex wife being hired to model clothes for the fuller figured woman of size 16 and above and she was a size 4 at the time. Rather than address the problem, Europe has now decided to alter dress sizes instead so that previous bigger sizes have been rigged to be smaller to help people feel good about themselves!
I love that Willi is getting funnier although since she now doesn't have a job I wander what she's doing with her day and where she will get the money to pay Christina. I'm about confused about this Mead heir storyline since Bradford already has heirs in Danny and the Tranny, why would another child make any difference to the scheme of things except to share the wealth out which the little nipper probably won't get until he's 25 anyway - it won't give Wili any more power than she has now.
Not enough of Betty's family or the lovely Henry this week. I'm confused, has Henry's kid been born yet, I think there was a reference to it this week and if it has been why is he still here?
Alexis has become too drunk with power and is treating Daniel as badly as his Father did - she needs taking down a peg. Bring back the little publisher to put her in line.
Great ep! It was good to see nearly the whole gang back again.
I like Justin's new hair, btw. Very Euro cool. It suits him and his seeming aspirations. But, I have to state here, that men do not burn 26% more calories than women. Calorie burning differs from individual to individual and it depends on many factors. It's not just a sex thing.
I think Ugly Betty has always been about the issue of how beauty is portrayed in the entertainment world and in the fashion industry. Lest we forget one of the earliest episodes when Wilhemina talked a Hollywood star into accepting her picture be airbrushed in Mode so that it looked less "normal" (or ugly) and more fantasy (or beautiful).
The whole character of Betty herself is also a comment on this kind of thinking. So, I seriously doubt the show will ever ignore this core issue until or unless they lose their minds or someone other than the current team takes it over.
Our eyes are used to viewing women who are size zeroes and ones as "normal" when we see them on screen or in magazines, so women who wear larger sizes often look quite overweight in comparison. This is the issue for many people and it will take a bit of visual retraining for us to see this for what it really is -- an optical illusion.
Smoke and mirrors, people. It's similar to what they do in films to make actors appear taller or shorter than they are in reality.
They used it for Betty's appearance on the runway too. You'll notice that most of the models on before her were larger than Betty which, in turn made her appear smaller. I don't know whether or not America has lost any weight recently to play Betty, but my guess is that she hasn't and only looked slim on the runway due to this optical illusion.
She also is slim. I believe she wears a size 10.
I doubt Gene Simmons is Amanda's father but it should be interesting to see if she contacts him and where he leads her. Amanda's biological father has to be a lot more outrageous than Gene Simmons. He does, afterall, have that cheeky yellow bird tattooed on his butt!
I agree that Alexis has become rather two-dimensionally mean recently. I know that she and Daniel have often had a bad case of sibling rivalry, but I think she's taking it too far. I hope we'll get a more complex Alexis back soon.
I loved seeing the actor who plays Cliff on Moonlight, but I missed him on this ep of Ugly Betty. I hope he comes back soon.
The Wilhemina baby plot still makes me laugh out loud. Now they want to add a surrogate into the mix. Cl***ic!
I always thought that Wil was going to get pregnant and pretend she had been before Bradford's p***ing so as to lend more credence to her baby's claim on his inheritance. But, now with the surrogate, I don't know where this plot will go. It's still funny and outrageous, though, so I'm willing to wait and see how it pans out. I, personally, hope Christina turns her down, but I have a feeling that she won't.
I'm also curious also to see when Henry's own baby will finally be born. Tick tock.
I missed this episode while on vaction! Hopefully I can catch a repeat, because it sound super funny!