ABC's Thursday night dramedy "Ugly Betty" is the epitome of a guilty pleasure. The show is filled with flaws and clich?©s, slapstick humor and foul, immature language, and yet, somehow, through all of the problems shines a sympathetic young girl and her dreams of making it to the top.
This is the stuff that good bad TV is made of. And if it's good bad TV, well, that almost makes it bad good TV.
"Ugly Betty" is based on the Colombian telenovela, "Yo Soy Betty La Fea," but the Anglo version feels similar to this year's film, "The Devil Wears Prada." The eponymou character, Betty Suarez (played by America Ferrera), is a fresh graduate of Queens College who has high hopes of launching her own magazine. As a part of this goal, she decides to interview at publishing companies but, of course, is initially turned away by a highbrow company, Meade Magazines.
Soon thereafter, however, Betty receives a phone call saying she has been hired as assistant to Daniel Meade (Eric Mabius), the new editor-in-chief of "Mode," the television show's version of "Vogue."
While Betty, who on the first day wears a poncho with "Guadalajara" scrawled on it, tries to keep up with the fast-paced work of a world of fashion, she fails to fit in with the other more attractive and well dressed employees. Other problems arise with family member Hilda (Ana Ortiz) as Betty's career overtakes time previously dedicated to her father.
In now-standard ABC fashion, "Ugly Betty" is fueled by mysterious subplots. The office fashionista, Wilhelmina (Vanessa Williams), has ties to a dark ex-editor who may or may not have died in a car crash. Daniel's father enters the plot because, as head of the entire Meade company, Bradford Meade (Alan Dale) has very specific interests regarding her death.
The casting of "Ugly Betty" is wonderful for what the writing tries to depict, namely overly stereotypical caricatures. Mabius and Williams are fabulous when their characters are at their worst, though Mabius has trouble exhibiting the softer side of Daniel. Here, the show is boring for the first time.
Williams' Wilhemina is always good for a laugh as her Botox injections and goofy relationship with her equally evil assistant take up most of her onscreen time.
Ferrera, who also appeared in "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" (2005), is impressive in the title role. Even through the poorly directed slapstick in which Betty runs into doors and falls on the street, the young Honduran-American actress maintains a sense of dignity.
By the end, the viewer, probably very abashedly, feels for "Ugly Betty" and the difficulties she faces as an outsider in a cutthroat business. She is the only truly good character on the show, and for that, the audience can easily relate to her, although they might laugh when she trips on things.
But ultimately, much of what makes "Ugly Betty" so hilarious is unintentionally bad writing. Any show that uses the crude and, not to mention, non-existent words "douche-y" and "fugly" in its pilot probably needs some work on its scripts. Even more disappointing are the banalities that cripple the script, like "I'm sorry I let you down."
The script is incongruous, as it tries to stay part satire, part drama, and part after school special. To be fair, "Ugly Betty" doesn't bill itself as kindling for great intellectual debate or enlightenment; it is supposed to be fun, and this show has fun in spades.
One of the most fun aspects of "Ugly Betty" is the music. The songs from the first episode - Donna Summer's "She Works Hard for the Money" and KT Tunstall's "Suddenly I See" (also, interestingly enough, part of "The Devil Wears Prada" soundtrack) - are upbeat and empowering. Other background salsa-style music throughout the pilot provides some extra Latin flavor to Betty's life.
"Ugly Betty" is a delightful romp once a week. It won't win any awards and doesn't aspire to profundity, but after a tough week, who needs it? Dance to a little music and laugh at a bit of ridiculous programming; when you squint just right, to block out the problems and predictability, "Ugly Betty" is pretty cute after all.
