Summer is winding down. As compensation for this potentially depressing
reality, the major television networks stand at the ready to distract
viewers with a colorful array of new shows. The last few years have been
good to me. Four years ago: Joan of Arcadia. Three: LOST. Two: Ghost Whisperer. And last year... Ugly Betty.
All the summer buzz for this show based on a popular telenovela
especially intrigued my mom, so we made a point of watching the first
episode when it aired. We were hooked.
Ugly Betty is a
bright, splashy, silly but life-affirming show revolving around one of
the most engaging heroines ever to grace the small screen. America
Ferrera, who wowed me a couple years back in Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants,
dazzles as the luminescent but gawky Betty Suarez, a plucky young
Latina from Queens whose trademark look includes clunky red-framed
glasses, a mouth full of metal and one fashion disaster after another.
Her ensemble should pose a glaring problem, since she's just landed a
position as the assistant to the editor-in-chief of Mode, a major
fashion magazine. But Betty has a smart head on her shoulders and a
soul brimming with goodness, so her common sense, cleverness and
morality allow her to get further in this cut-throat business than
anyone would expect.
It helps that her boss, Daniel Meade
(Eric Mabius), is stepping into unexplored territory himself, having
just been appointed by his father, magazine tycoon Bradford Meade (Alan
Dale), to run the show. Mabius plays his role with a charming mixture of
befuddlement and style. He's obviously used to the finer things in
life, but as a rich playboy he's never had to go after them himself.
Bradford - who in many ways is identical to Charles Widmore (the wealthy, dream-squashing father of Desmond's dream girl, Penny), the character he portrays on LOST
- thinks having a frumpy assistant will help Daniel keep his mind on
his job, but he never counted on the dramatic impact she would have on
his work ethic and his overall development as a person. Daniel isn't a
bad guy. In most respects, he's very decent, but he does have some
unfortunate tendencies, and Betty soon takes it upon herself to go above
and beyond her daily duties and act as his own personal Jiminy Cricket.
If Daniel soon begins to appreciate her, most of her other
new associates come around much more slowly. She does find a fast friend
in Christina McKinney (Ashley Jensen), an off-beat Scottish seamstress
desperately trying to get her foot in the door as a fashion designer,
but even after surviving her first nightmarish day on the job, she finds
animosity around every corner. The most egregious offenders are Amanda
Tanen (Becki Newton), a receptionist who's had her eye on Betty's job
(and her boss) for ages, and Marc St. James (Michael Urie), effervescent
assistant to icy fashionista Wilhelmina Slater (Vanessa Williams), who
is determined to seize Daniel's power for herself.
Williams'
presence is commanding, and she struts around the office like a slightly
classier version of Cruella De Vil. Wilhelmina may not be ordering hits
on spotted puppies, but she certainly isn't short on underhanded
schemes, and Marc is incomparably capable of helping her carry them out.
His favorite side hobby is teaming up with his best buddy Amanda and
heaping the snark on Betty, who generally shrugs off their insults,
which are usually veiled as compliments whose sarcasm she often misses.
When I watched the pilot episode, I was powerfully reminded of 13 Going on 30,
and Amanda particularly brought to mind the catty, back-stabbing Lucy,
fellow employee at the fashion magazine where naive protagonist Jenna
works. It's hard to say which of the office divas is more unlikable, but
both manage to garner our sympathy before too long, rude remarks and
conniving aside. Wilhelmina becomes downright cuddly during a mid-season
arc involving laid-back millionaire Ted LeBeau (Brett Cullen, who I
first knew as apparent goody-two-shoes Goodwin on LOST), while Amanda shows her vulnerable side as she pines after Daniel.
But among this troublesome trio, it's Urie who really steals the show,
flouncing around the office with an impeccable wardrobe and sparkling
smile, feigning friendliness to Betty even as he snaps unflattering
photos of her and competes with Amanda to come up with the most scathing
appraisals of their newest co-worker. Marc is cruel in a Simon
Cowell-meets-Jack McFarland sort of way, but he's so darn adorable it's
hard to get too perturbed about it, and no one can deny he's both a
dedicated lackey to Wilhelmina and a faithful friend to Amanda. In a
show marked by camp, he's probably the most over-the-top character of
all, but underneath all that showmanship is a sensitive and sometimes
even compassionate soul, which we see particularly strongly when Marc's
mother makes a guest appearance late in the season.
Betty has
more problems to deal with on the home front. She lives with her father
Ignacio (Tony Plana), a tender, fun-loving widower who immigrated to
America from Mexico 30 years ago. As health problems prevent him from
working, Betty finds herself the main bread-winner of the family, though
her saucy older sister Hilda (Ana Ortiz) brings in some cash selling
herbal remedies. Ignacio is a refreshingly devoted father, but he has a
few skeletons in his closet that cause a host of headaches when they
come out to tap-dance across the kitchen floor. Speaking of dancing,
Betty's pre-teen nephew Justin (Mark Indelicato) is like a miniature
Marc with a little less 'tude. Ecstatic that his aunt has managed to
land a position at the magazine of his dreams, the musical-obsessed,
flawlessly garbed Justin takes every opportunity to sneak a peek at the
inner workings of Mode, much to the chagrin of Santos (Kevin Alejandro), the macho absentee father who comes back into his life early in the season.
And then there's Walter (Kevin Sussman), Betty's high school
sweetheart, who in the first episode cheats on her with the neighborhood
floozy who's only using him for his discount at the electronics store. I
recognized Sussman immediately as the mobster-threatened ninny from the
Verizon Wireless commercial, and he's similarly the epitome of awkward
here. He strives to win Betty back, and at first I rooted for their
relationship; after all, four years together can't just be thrown out
the window. But there is the matter of the infidelity, and the fact that
Betty and Walter have zero chemistry with each other. Each of their
scenes seems like an ungainly waltz, with Betty trying not to get her
toes stubbed by the croaky young man who tries his best to be sweet but
more often comes across as clingy, whiny and clueless.
Not so Henry Grubstick (Christopher Gorham), who, with his Clark Kent
looks and C-3PO mannerisms, is every bit as geeky as his name suggests
but is a Nerd in Shining Armor if ever I saw one. Time seems to stand
still every time the glasses-clad accountant waddles over to Betty for
some heart-fluttering small talk. Before long, her officemates notice
right along with the audience that these two are perfectly poised to be
the cutest couple in Manhattan, but Walter is only one of the roadblocks
standing in the way of this storybook romance.
And storybook
is a good way to describe this show, which veers ever so slightly away
from reality. It's like a Kodachrome snapshot of New York City, packed
with over-dramatic performances and unreasonably coincidental twists and
turns, to say nothing of all the steamy secrets bubbling underneath the
revered name of Meade. With its vibrant sets, snappy dialogue and
winking scene transitions, it's candy for the eyes and ears. Ugly Betty
doesn't try to take itself too seriously, as evidenced by the
self-parody in the form of the Spanish soap opera Ignacio often watches,
which usually features a gorgeous man and woman engaging in some sort
of violent argument that turns into a passionate kiss. It is on this
show that executive producer Salma Hayek makes her first appearance; she
later returns for a mid-season arc as the editor of a new women's
magazine with whom Daniel becomes smitten.
The show is steamy,
with all sorts of torrid little affairs happening at once. Double
entendres fly fast and furious and along with showing the sometimes
seedy ins and outs of the fashion industry, it broaches such ticklish
topics as transsexualism, teenage pregnancy and illegal immigration.
While it aims for comedy and succeeds brilliantly, it also manages to be
very touching, particularly in its treatment of family. While there is a
clear contrast between the Meades' dysfunctional opulence and the
Suarezes' wholesome near-poverty, the members of Daniel's family do find
ways of caring for each other, and Betty becomes like a sister to him,
providing both a stern guiding hand and a shoulder to cry on.
In the end, it all comes down to Betty, whose steps may be clumsy, whose
clothes may clash, whose confidence may waver, but who never loses her
kindness, her unswerving ethics, her absolute decency. Through the skill
of America Ferrera, we see the American Dream in action, a regular girl
without much cash or many connections making her mark on the world
through a combination of ambition and integrity. I don't know if this
year's fall season will yield a new show for me to get hooked on. But I
know that season two of Ugly Betty is right around the corner, and that is a beautiful thing indeed.
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