Movies/TV Shows with hot guys ending up with ugly girls?

liah

So there's an incredibly wide variety of films/shows where the hot chick ends up with the less-than-conventionally-attractive bloke (e.g. every Seth Rogen film to date). But what about the reverse? I can think of loads of the first scenario off the top of my head but when I try to think of a film/show where a hot dude ends up with a less-than-attractive chick I'm left completely blank.

The most I can come up with is when a guy falls for an "average" girl who wears glasses and her hair in a bun and by the end of it she's a swimsuit model lookalike (which is when he realizes he REALLY loves her or something.)

Do you think this perhaps feeds into some men thinking it doesn't matter how they look or act, that they're entitled to a hot chick despite probably being average or less than themselves?

Let's take my Seth Rogen example from earlier - think about the film Knocked Up. Let's face it, the guy's an immature, selfish twat through the majority of the movie and only really starts trying towards the end. I still can't comprehend why she tolerated him to begin with, other than the fact that it was a romcom and the 'average guy' (average for a 16 year old, maybe) needed to end up with a hot chick.

This isn't to say that people should "know their limits," so to speak. I just think it's a fairly hypocritical attitude - when this scenario's put into the real world, they want to have their fantasy girl, get pissed off when she goes with someone presumably more attractive (probably calling her shallow/superficial along the way), while presumably ignoring all the 'average'-looking girls who are attracted to them because they don't match up to their standards.

Obviously sometimes it does work out, the not-so-hot guy ends up with a super-hot chick, or the not-so-hot chick ends up with the super-hot dude, but if we're being realistic it's relatively rare to see such a dramatic difference between partners. Most people tend to pair off with people who are on a similar "level" of attractiveness as themselves.

So are movies like Knocked Up and the hundreds (thousands?) of other average-dude-gets-hot-chick films causing some men to think about things a little less realistically than they perhaps should be? Are they perpetuating the whole "if you don't like me, you're shallow, even though I've probably turned someone down I wasn't attracted to before too" mentality which often leads to serious self-esteem issues and bitterness?

Basically, are those films to lads what chick flicks are to girls in terms of what we come to expect from love/relationships/coupling? Are they learning to expect hotness regardless of how they act/what they look like/whatever else in the same way that we learned to expect grandiose acts of love and romance?

(if there's any generalizations in there it's only shorthand; as a person who was never into chick flicks I'm not going to claim all women are, and I'm not going to claim all men think this way either. I am very aware people are different overall. )

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

uh, you only have to go outside for 5 minutes to see a load of pretty ugly men who are arm in arm with absolute stunners. confidence, power, great in bed.. *shrug*.. but it's very common.

LegacyUser

I always thought it was because its mostly men writing, directing, and producing those movies.

It does seem to be simply. A reflection of what men want though. As for influencing men the same way chick flicks are supposedly influencing women though, who knows. It does also seem to happen often enough in real life though as women don't care about a man's looks as much as men do about women's.

liah

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar wrote: »

uh, you only have to go outside for 5 minutes to see a load of pretty ugly men who are arm in arm with absolute stunners. confidence, power, great in bed.. *shrug*.. but it's very common.

Thought it was clear enough that I'm talking about your average guy who won't have the large bank account/flash car/whatever else gold diggers are typically interested in.

Again, it does happen, but it's rarer than people seem to expect.

Silverfish

It predates these movies though.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SPogGqCgeM

Written in 1979.

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

.. i didn't even mention money. I live in carlow, I don't know if you've ever been here but it isn't exactly the vacation port of choice for d4 heads or Irelands elite.

Kimia

I think that the movies where the nerdy ugly guy best friend ends up with his absolute stunner best female friend is unrealistic. And for some reason that dude from the Social Network is always the nerdy friend.

nermal15

The Way We Were. Barbara Streisand is with the more conventionally attractive Robert Redford. They break up, but still.

liah

Silverfish wrote: »

It predates these movies though.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SPogGqCgeM

Written in 1979.

Definitely agree, was just using them as an example.

Earthhorse

Probably everybody rates themselves a little higher than everyone else does. Everyone thinks they're entitled to more pay, a "better" looking girl or guy, an easy ride so to speak. Does media help perpetuate such beliefs? Almost certainly. I don't know how much though and I don't think there are too many people out there with really unrealistic expectations of who they can be with. I can't really think of anyone I know who fits that bill.

Eve_Dublin

I rarely see a dorky, nerdy, overweight guy like you see in those films with a truly stunning woman. I see guys that I wouldn't fancy myself (what I'd personally call plain) with good looking women but the really, really, really RIDICULOUSLy good-looking people generally stick with the really, really RIDICULOUSLY good-looking people in the real world.

liah

Eve_Dublin wrote: »

the really, really, really RIDICULOUSLy good-looking people generally stick with the really, really RIDICULOUSLY good-looking people in the real world.

And who could blame them, really? :pac: We'd be hypocrites if we said we'd be any different.

Eve_Dublin

liah wrote: »

And who could blame them, really? :pac: We'd be hypocrites if we said we'd be any different.

Yeah....I sometimes get a little bit bitter about that though. I'm in a city with some serious hot people and you see a hot couple and you think, "Well of course. How predictable. You must have a lovely time just looking at each other admiringly. Good for you. Barf.". You don't see the good-looking woman, plain-looking man combo here so much generally. You see plain people with plain people...I suppose there's so many that no one feels the need to "settle".

Catari Jaguar

Great topic Liah.

Yea, the girls fall for the guys for so many reasons e.g. kind, sweet, attentive, fun, heart of gold... but the men only sought out the girl because she's pretty - sure she doesn't need any good personality traits, she's got a cheerleading outfit.

But in general there are way more nerdy, funny, unconventional looking leading men in Hollywood at the moment (think Judd Apatow movies or anyone from the US Office). They're in.

Who's offbeat for a female character - Ellen Page? Emma Stone? Quirky yes, but still extremely pretty. Tina Fey is the only "funny" dude female equivalent I can think of and as Liz Lemon in 30 Rock her love life is a disaster.

Maybe the cast from the new Bridesmaids film would fall into that category (Judd Apatow again) Let's see them get with a hottie in that.

Catari Jaguar

Earthhorse wrote: »

Probably everybody rates themselves a little higher than everyone else does.

Maybe like 1 in every 100 women... Growing up, I knew one girl that was confident in her appearance. Even entered herself into a model competition and used her looks to get stuff. She's on TV now so she doesn't really count . That said, she only would go out with "trophy" men and complain if she was treated badly.

Chuchoter

Every movie Michael Cera has every been in nearly does this. Like Scott Pilgrim, he's a selfish, irritating, unattractive twat and just demands the girls attention and she's all like ok I guess so. She has an incredibly small part in the actual relationship.

Malari

Hmm, only one that comes to mind is Strictly Ballroom. She improves a bit by the end of the movie, but she's still not that attractive.

Doesn't it just show that average, geeky girls who don't put a lot of effort into their appearance could get the hot guy if they just got their act together and got a make-over

Chuchoter

And glasses make you instantly hideous. No matter what. :P

liah

Malari wrote: »

Hmm, only one that comes to mind is Strictly Ballroom. She improves a bit by the end of the movie, but she's still not that attractive.

Doesn't it just show that average, geeky girls who don't put a lot of effort into their appearance could get the hot guy if they just got their act together and got a make-over

Breakfast Club is the go-to answer for this topic.

Catari Jaguar

I was just thinking that females usually only win/ nominated for Oscars for films where they don't use their looks or get make up to look bad

Nicole Kidman - The Hours
Charlize Theron - Monster
Hilary Swank - Boys Don't Cry
Halle Berry - Monsters Ball
Amy Adams - The Fighter

Obviously without their beauty distracting you, their ability to act shines through...

Hollywood loves it's "ugly girl (who gets a makeover!!) gets the guy" films, but won't use ugly girls. Even the plain Janes types are desperately pretty girls like in She's All That, Ugly Betty, The Princess Diaries/ Devil Wears Prada, Bridget Jones etc.

Dozen Wicked Words

Couple of films that might fit the bill.

First attempt, granted she is thin and "attractive" for most of the film, but Hal loves her in the end, regardless of her outward appearance. (Obviously Jack Black is no super model either)

Shallow Hal

Ben Chaplin goes out with Uma Thurman but ends up with Janeane Garafalo

The Truth about Cats and Dogs

PK2008

"Nobody puts baby in the corner"

krudler

Shrek

parker kent

Would Sex and the City count? SJP or Miranda Richardson are not the typical beautiful women you see on TV. Then Kim Cattrall would be older than the average woman on TV in a similar role to the one she played. Kristin Davis is pretty beautiful, so she doesn't count!

On a sidenote, I think it is harsh to label either the men or women in those movies/TV shows as ugly. They are just not as ridiculously attractive as most men or women on TV.

Malari

liah wrote: »

Breakfast Club is the go-to answer for this topic.

Can you clarify? I only saw the Breakfast Club once, years ago, in German (Das Fruhstuck Club!) and I can't really remember what happened!

krudler

Malari wrote: »

Can you clarify? I only saw the Breakfast Club once, years ago, in German (Das Fruhstuck Club!) and I can't really remember what happened!

spoilering this in case anyone hasnt seen The Breakfast Club (if not why not?)

Emilio Estevez's character falls for the previously kooky loner girl after Molly Ringwald gives her a makeover, she's still a kooky loner, but now a pretty one

Giselle

My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Nia Vardalos was the plump, plain, overlooked Greek girl who blossomed after falling in love with the rather tasty John Corbett.

Of course, she looked ten times hotter by the end of the movie.:)

Dolbert

cherub rock wrote: »

Hollywood loves it's "ugly girl (who gets a makeover!!) gets the guy" films, but won't use ugly girls. Even the plain Janes types are desperately pretty girls like in She's All That, Ugly Betty, The Princess Diaries/ Devil Wears Prada, Bridget Jones etc.

I loved this in 'Not Another Teen Movie'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9qnycjeZ3w

The only sitcom that I can think of that had an equally matched husband and wife looks-wise was Roseanne. In this case she was a stand-up comedienne using the show as a vehicle for her comedy, she definitely wouldn't have been cast in a sitcom otherwise!

Is it partly to do with old advertising sensibilities I wonder? I mean this hot wife/ average husband is always seen in ads too. The idea that an attractive woman will appeal to men because she's hot, and to women because it's aspirational. Whereas an average 'everyman' bloke will appeal to men, as it's non-threatening.</conjecture>

Nia Vardalos has spoken of how it was nigh on impossible for her to get any work in Hollywood prior to writing and casting herself in My Big Fat Greek Wedding. She was not drop dead gorgeous enough to get mainstream roles, and not quirky enough looking to get character acting roles. Simply put, average women just don't get a look in unless they actively create a series/ movie and put themselves in there.

Will and Grace summed it up pretty well I think:

KAREN: All right. Bring on the shows.

JACK: Nope. [JACK CHANGES THE CHANNEL WITH THE REMOTE.]

KAREN: Nope. [JACK CHANGES THE CHANNEL.]

JACK: Fat guy, skinny wife. [JACK CHANGES THE CHANNEL.]

KAREN: Fat guy, skinny wife. [JACK CHANGES THE CHANNEL.]

JACK: Fat guy, skinny wife. [JACK CHANGES THE CHANNEL.]

KAREN: Ugly guy, skinny wife? America is not ready for that.

Mc Kenzie

I think going by looks isnt always what it seems. a person could be not that great looking but two people could get on very well and sometimes you become attreacted to the person rather than what you see on the outside. i think it really depends on the kind of person.

its funny when you become attracted to the person an then there appearence becomes attractive too because of who they are not what they are;)

(ps i dont mean ha ha funny just ironic)

Handsome Bob

It depends on what one perceives as attractive ain't it? Some people claim that Maggie Gyllenhaal is unattractive*, yet the character that she played in The Dark Knight was involved in a tug of love with two attractive male characters.

*I disagree with the claim fwiw

Faith

Countless studies have found that men are mainly attracted to physical appearance, while women take things like status and financial situation into account a lot more, and are willing to compromise on physical attractiveness if the man has a lot to offer in other areas. So it would be quite unusual in every day life to see a guy going out with a woman significantly less attractive than himself, so I imagine that's why it's not a scenario often represented in films.

MissG

I completely agree with this post and have thought about this one for a long time...

take it back even to The Simpsons- Homer is an overweight idiot going out with an intelligent gorgeous woman-now I know this is a cartoon, and not real, but that subliminal message I think has gotten in our heads at an early age.

I'd like to think that you love someone regardless of what they look like- and I do believe that chemistry can't be explained, but to even get to talk to someone there has to be a physical attraction(certainly in the social scene in Ireland).

I've heard of countless stories of absolutely gorgeous women being messed around by average guys-drives me mad!

It's much rarer to see an average girl with a smoking hot guy- I used to think it was numbers-more girls than guys, so therefore they can be choosy but I'm not so sure. I think most guys aim high and girls aim lower- a confidence issue too. I think women can be their own worst enemies- there was an average looking girl in my school that went out with one of the best looking guys you've ever seen. People used to say the meanest things about her and so many girls were angry that she was with him- men would congratulate a man in the opposite situation.

Wibbs

LZ5by5 wrote: »

Some people claim that Maggie Gyllenhaal is unattractive

I'd be one of those people TBH and crass and obvious as I am that film didn't quite work on that level for me because of it. Shallow? Mois? Slightly...

I'm with Faith on this as an overall explanation.

Morag

It's a variation on the Madonna/whore theme.

When she was perceived as unattractive she will not have had as much of a sexual past.
By the her getting a make over to be come attractive the guy gets him self a bangable babe that hasn't been banged by a bunch of other dudes already. So she'll look like a whore but not have been used like one.

Exile 1798

While it’s true that looks are very important to men, I think it's also true that most men find a greater variety of women physically attractive then most women do men.

When looks are all that count, a guy going through his daily routine will see hundreds of women he finds extremely attractive. The girl at the café, the bird at the bus stop, the woman in the blue blouse… it's never ending

Are women as attracted to average looking men as much as men are to average looking women? I would say not.

It’s often said of a famous actress who's held up as being beauty personified that "she’s nothing special" or "she's nothing you couldn't see dozens of times by just walking down the street" Which is true, Aneglia Jolie not made up by a professional team and not in a fitted dress on the red carpet… her attractiveness in my eyes is equal to women I see every day. She wouldn’t even stand out from amongst all the hot women at a pub on a Saturday night.

But how often do you see a Brad Pitt or Eric Bana at the pub? Is it ever said of them that "they’re nothing you can’t see everyday in the street"? Are they "nothing special"?

It’s a good thing a woman's attraction can increase based on non-physical aspects of a man, otherwise we’d all be screwed.

Based on the way some women talk, it seems like they believe that men have the same sort of lofty threshold when it comes to pure physical attraction as they do for men. It’s not the case. If you're average, you're hot. If you're just below average, we're still keen. Male attraction is very base and somewhat binary. It's not significantly effected by external forces. Men don't clamour and scream for "hot" stars the way women do. The male fantasy is for the girl next door, not the "perfect" girl who lives on another continent, in permanent sunshine, makes $20m a movie and is all powerful.

If you're far below average that makes life difficult, but you're in a similar position as an "ugly" man without means or prospects, of which there are many.

All IMHO, and off-course attraction is subjective.

parker kent

Sharrow wrote: »

It's a variation on the Madonna/whore theme.

When she was perceived as unattractive she will not have had as much of a sexual past.
By the her getting a make over to be come attractive the guy gets him self a bangable babe that hasn't been banged by a bunch of other dudes already. So she'll look like a whore but not have been used like one.

I think that is reading far, far too much into it.

pickarooney

Pretty much anything with Kirsten Dunst should count.

Also, you need to factor in the average good-lookingness levels over the course of a long relationship. In a lot of cases what starts out as an ugly-guy/hot-girl pairing shifts in the other direction over time.

Ickle Magoo

Not sure about "ugly girls", there are few ugly people in the lead romantic roles in movies but personal tastes are subjective - I'm sure some film directors think they have cast a smoking hot pair but plenty are going to think the male lead is not that attractive compared with the female and, of course, visa versa...

Pyr0

Exile 1798 wrote: »

When looks are all that count, a guy going through his daily routine will see hundreds of women he finds extremely attractive. The girl at the café, the bird at the bus stop, the woman in the blue blouse… it's never ending

I can agree to this on a personal level, definitely. I've tried explaining this to a few female friends and they don't fully get how I can see a lot of attractive girls throughout the course of my day. They rarely ever look alike but I'd consider them the higher level of attractiveness (in my personal opinion of course).

I wouldn't consider the media having an effect over me in how and what I perceive attractiveness to be. In saying that, I would not be able count on one hand the amount of couples I know where the male is more attractive than the female, they've either been of the same level of attractiveness or the girl has been more attractive.

Out of all the guys I know, not one has stated they found a woman alright looking but found them more attractive because she had "X" amount of money or she had amazing job or any sort of stereotype women have been deemed look for in a man. On the other hand, the amount of girls I've come into contact with who use a car, a job, money, a musical band (purely because of the status of it, not musical talent) in raising the attractiveness of a man is shocking. Something influenced by the media? Possibly. I can't talk for every situation that could arise.

metrovelvet

Pyr0 wrote: »

I can agree to this on a personal level, definitely. I've tried explaining this to a few female friends and they don't fully get how I can see a lot of attractive girls throughout the course of my day. They rarely ever look alike but I'd consider them the higher level of attractiveness (in my personal opinion of course).

I wouldn't consider the media having an effect over me in how and what I perceive attractiveness to be. In saying that, I would not be able count on one hand the amount of couples I know where the male is more attractive than the female, they've either been of the same level of attractiveness or the girl has been more attractive.

Out of all the guys I know, not one has stated they found a woman alright looking but found them more attractive because she had "X" amount of money or she had amazing job or any sort of stereotype women have been deemed look for in a man. On the other hand, the amount of girls I've come into contact with who use a car, a job, money, a musical band (purely because of the status of it, not musical talent) in raising the attractiveness of a man is shocking. Something influenced by the media? Possibly. I can't talk for every situation that could arise.

But it still comes down to the same thing. A beautiful woman will still elevate HIS status.

iguana

The Vicar of Dibley married Dawn French to Clive Mantle;



Which is one of those things that makes it obvious (and I suspect took the piss out of) what is happening in a lot of these movies and shows, like The King of Queens or According to Jim. The show itself is a vehicle for a successful comedian, like Kevin James or Jim Belushi. They come up with a dom-com idea and get on board with a network. Then they cast an extremely attractive woman as his wife because for the most part they only cast extremely attractive actors.

metrovelvet

iguana wrote: »

The Vicar of Dibley married Dawn French to Clive Mantle;



Which is one of those things that makes it obvious (and I suspect took the piss out of) what is happening in a lot of these movies and shows, like The King of Queens or According to Jim. The show itself is a vehicle for a successful comedian, like Kevin James or Jim Belushi. They come up with a dom-com idea and get on board with a network. Then they cast an extremely attractive woman as his wife because for the most part they only cast extremely attractive actors.

Its also because comedy takes on a different dimension altogether. It's very hard for romantic hero types to even get cast in comedic roles because the are too handsome.

This seemed to be true for females once upon a time, until 'Friends'. If you notice before friends, female comedians had to be somewhat goofy, like Lucy Arnez for example. Even Monroe has a goofy element.

Lavezzi

liah wrote: »

This isn't to say that people should "know their limits," so to speak. I just think it's a fairly hypocritical attitude - when this scenario's put into the real world, they want to have their fantasy girl, get pissed off when she goes with someone presumably more attractive (probably calling her shallow/superficial along the way), while presumably ignoring all the 'average'-looking girls who are attracted to them because they don't match up to their standards.

[/SIZE]

This is definitely not applicable to any significant amount of males in the real world from my personal experience. Especially in Ireland. Since we're sharing our experiences of either gender in this regard, I will say that I have noticed a very high amount of Irish females that are average at best, looks and personality wise, deeming guys who come their way that are at least on level with them in both compartments as insufficient until they find a guy that is above average in either looks or character and then they practically throw themselves at him.

Men are judged on their character far more and women on their physical appearance. I'ts true in both when casting actors and picking potential partners. That is why it usually turns out as the male being less physically attractive than the female in films/television. As for in the real world, female beauty is far more subjective than male beauty. In other words. Women will almost always consider the 'smoking hot guys' to be the same individuals. Whereas males will have all sorts of differing tastes to what a 'hot' female is.

Ickle Magoo

Lavezzi wrote: »

Women will almost always consider the 'smoking hot guys' to be the same individuals.

That's not true at all - and while I welcome you to The Ladies Lounge, I would ask that you read the forum charter here and that from here-in you avoid making sweeping gender/national/personal/whatever assumptions and passing off personal opinion as if it were fact because it just annoys people and is commonly referred to as flaming.

Many thanks. :cool:

Any issues with a moderator instruction, please PM the mod in question or one of their co-mods.

Malari

Lavezzi wrote: »

Women will almost always consider the 'smoking hot guys' to be the same individuals. Whereas males will have all sorts of differing tastes to what a 'hot' female is.

I wouldn't agree with that at all. A scroll through the respective "objects of desire" threads in the Ladies Lounge and Gentleman's club will show most of the women to be standardised "hot" whereas the men are extremely varied and comments will often be along the lines of "I saw this guy in X show/movie and now think he's hot". It's based a lot of the time on character.

Like Aleksander Skarsgard from True Blood. Who the hell fancied him when he was the uber-camp "orange mocha frappucino" guy from Zoolander? Now that he's a super-sexy vampire character, he's so much more attractive.

Handsome Bob

Malari wrote: »

It's based a lot of the time on character.

In my humble, image is just as important. Would Eric be as attractive to his fanbase if he had the same lanky, dweeby physique that he had in Zoolander? I just watched Zoolander again on Sunday night, Skaarsgard is almost unrecognisable in it. :pac:

Malari

LZ5by5 wrote: »

In my humble, image is just as important. Would Eric be as attractive to his fanbase if he had the same lanky, dweeby physique that he had in Zoolander? I just watched Zoolander again on Sunday night, Skaarsgard is almost unrecognisable in it. :pac:

Oh yeah, I meant that. I mean, his face doesn't change that much. He's still an attractive guy back in the Zoolander days. But it's looks plus character. In fact I think it's Looks + 2 x (Character) :pac:

I do think that even if he was still lanky, that if his character made up for it then he'd still be considered attractive.

Dimitri

With regards to the op's point Sex and the city jumps to mind fairly fast, I can honestly say I find none of them in any way attractive at all and couple with the fact the seem to be awful people yet only one of them ended up with a fat bald guy who also happened to be the only character in the show that I thought had any redeeming characteristics. But as always taste is subjective!

Malari

Dimitri wrote: »

With regards to the op's point Sex and the city jumps to mind fairly fast, I can honestly say I find none of them in any way attractive at all and couple with the fact the seem to be awful people yet only one of them ended up with a fat bald guy who also happened to be the only character in the show that I thought had any redeeming characteristics. But as always taste is subjective!

It's not the first time I've heard this, and it often takes over from a show if the woman isn't good-looking enough. There's an expectation; good-looking woman, and man with enough personality to make him attractive. I've heard it in my own house! My boyfriend won't make any specific comment if the woman is good-looking in a show, but if she dips below the standard then it's all "she has a huge arse, her face is kind of weird, I don't like her hair"

The guy is usually never commented upon. I honestly don't blame movie and tv show producers picking good-looking women. There are probably hundreds of articles written about whether Sarah Jessica Parker is good-looking or not. Or good-looking enough.

iguana

Malari wrote: »

It's not the first time I've heard this, and it often takes over from a show if the woman isn't good-looking enough. There's an expectation; good-looking woman, and man with enough personality to make him attractive. I've heard it in my own house! My boyfriend won't make any specific comment if the woman is good-looking in a show, but if she dips below the standard then it's all "she has a huge arse, her face is kind of weird, I don't like her hair"

The guy is usually never commented upon. I honestly don't blame movie and tv show producers picking good-looking women. There are probably hundreds of articles written about whether Sarah Jessica Parker is good-looking or not. Or good-looking enough.

For the purpose of this thread Chris Noth is better looking than Sarah Jessica Parker. But Kirstin Davies is more attractive than the man her character married and the other two ended up with partners of roughly equal attractiveness, albeit Cattrall at 15 years older was past her prime, while Lewis was still in his.

Malari

iguana wrote: »

For the purpose of this thread Chris Noth is better looking than Sarah Jessica Parker.

Do you think so? Is that a commonly held belief? I would have thought they were both about the same lookswise! They are both reasonably good-looking people, with maybe oversized noses...