You’re Telling Me It’s Possible to Be More Beautiful Than Rebecca Hall?

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Okay, let me tell you about Ryan Murphy’s latest, The Beauty. It’s essentially a wild, over-the-top thriller that feels like a mix of The Substance and a really twisted take on a sexually transmitted disease. The premise? A scientist (Ashton Kutcher, mostly shouting) creates a formula to unlock everyone’s ultimate beauty. Unfortunately, a flawed version gets out, and people don’t just become gorgeous – they literally overheat until… well, let’s just say it’s messy. We see this happen right away with Bella Hadid’s character. But here’s the kicker: before the explosion, these newly ‘beautiful’ people are carriers. They spread the virus through… intimate contact, mostly sex, but even a splash of blood to the eye does the trick. And, naturally, once people start looking amazing, everyone wants a piece of the action, so the infection spreads like wildfire. It’s a bit thin thematically, but honestly? It’s a pretty fun ride.

Okay, so this show, The Beauty, is seriously messing with my head. It’s got this weird thing going on where they cast actors who aren’t necessarily the typical Hollywood ‘beautiful’ type, and then, once their character gets infected with this virus that makes everyone insanely attractive, they recast the role with someone conventionally hot. It’s kind of cruel, or maybe it’s a really twisted commentary on the industry – I’m still not sure. Like, they start with Jaquel Spivey, who was amazing in A Strange Loop, playing this really unlikeable guy, and then poof, it’s Jeremy Pope, who is, let’s be honest, ridiculously good-looking. And it’s not just men! Ben Platt, who’s charming as a gossipy Vogue assistant, gets the virus and transforms into Isaac Cole Powell – seriously, this guy has sculpted cheekbones. But it’s not just about making Seymour from Little Shop of Horrors hotter – it’s about changing the standard entirely. Even Rebecca Hall, playing a super stylish FBI agent investigating these bizarre body explosions with Evan Peters (who, bless him, can’t fake a French accent), gets infected after a hookup because dealing with her feelings for Peters is apparently harder than catching a virus. It’s just…a lot.

Rebecca Hall is already strikingly beautiful – the kind of woman you’d expect to see in a classic portrait. So, it’s surprising when the show The Beauty decides to replace her with another actress, Jessica Alexander. While Alexander is also attractive, the camera simply doesn’t capture her in the same way it does Hall. Hall has a unique, captivating presence that goes beyond just physical appearance – a natural elegance and style. Whenever the cast is photographed together, Hall clearly stands out and commands attention.

I don’t think this disease, which is supposedly meant to make people more beautiful, is actually working very well. The show quickly points out that the main character is insecure about her breasts and has thought about getting implants, signaling to the audience that she’s supposed to be relatable and ‘average’ – someone who feels inadequate like many of us do. However, the show misses a chance to explore a more interesting idea: what if the virus transformed people into their ideal version of beauty? There’s a lot of potential there to satirize how people often trade their unique qualities for a more conventional, and ultimately bland, look.

The movie could benefit from exploring deeper themes – maybe having the characters grapple with big questions or just having some intellectual fun. Casting could also be more playful; replacing Hall with an actress known for her looks, or someone unexpectedly American and blonde, could add a layer of intrigue, much like in the movie Starter for 10, which oddly suggests James McAvoy would prefer a conventionally attractive woman over Rebecca Hall. The transformations of Platt and Spivey into Pope and Powell also feel purely based on attractiveness, and like much of Murphy’s work, visual spectacle seems to be prioritized over a more nuanced story.

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2026-02-04 23:54