Review of Ugliest Woman In The World, The

Introduction

Ever since 1997`s `Starship Troopers`, B-Movies have been increasingly difficult to identify. Whereas before, the `broken-biscuits` of the movie business (as excellently highlighted in Tim Burton`s Biopic `Ed Wood`) had been well signposted and instantly recognisable, the last ten years have seen many becoming self-mocking and created with increasingly larger budgets - and, consequentially, more adventurous and OTT plots.

It`s the year 2010 and Lola Otero (Elia Galera) is the self styled `Ugliest Woman in the World` - except she`s not. Thanks to the marvels of modern medicine via a not-really-that-mad professor, she has been able to relinquish her facial past and is actually quite stunning; so much so that the Spanish press has taken to calling her, not surprisingly, the most `beautiful woman in the world`.

However, almost like a junkie Cinderella , Lola is wholly dependant on a `serum` to keep her looking that way, and - because of her inner torment - happens to be a bit of serial killer to boot. Even with the Spanish Police`s greatest detectives on her trail, she still manages to kill various `Miss Spain`s; right in front of Police Chief Teniente Arribas` (played by España`s answer to Bobby Deniro, Roberto Álvarez) eyes.

A direct comparison is not easy to find. The best description would be something approximating a cross between `The Fifth Element`, `The Elephant man` and `Miss Congeniality` - which is an extremely brutal and dangerous recipe if ever there was one. However, for all the futurist aspirations, the film is essentially a homicidal retelling of the Ugly Duckling - with nuns.

Video

The transfer is of extremely good quality, and the Widescreen 1.85:1 Anamorphic aspect ratio manages to deliver the film well throughout. There have been several reservations about the visual quality on various internet sources, but they seem to be overly harsh on what is, for the most part, a great looking DVD.

Although at the time of production 2010 was only 11 years ahead, the sets and titles are quite futuristic in their design - by which I mean there are very few straight lines and lots and lots of silver things! This gives an indication that those in charge weren`t really taking things too seriously and actually allows you to breathe that little bit easier. In fact, a large amount of the design is lifted almost wholesale from the aforementioned `Fifth Element`, so much so that you expect Bruce Willis to drive a Hover-Taxi across the screen at any moment.

Audio

It`s a soundtrack of two halves, John. In places you have some wonderfully orchestrated Spanish music and classical pieces, matching the mood perfectly and enhancing the viewing pleasure considerably. But, then again, there is some decidedly dodgy `Cop Funk` - `Starsky and Hutch` stylee - thrown in, which almost ruins the film in places.

With both Dolby Digital 5.1 and Dolby Digital Surround 2.0 audio options, those who like to put their DVDs through their paces should be satisfied.

Features

The features are a `Making of` feature, a Gallery, Trailers … and previews of a couple of other releases on the `Nucleus films` label.

The `Making Of` feature is the only one of these extras worth passing comment on, as self-descriptive as the rest are. Lasting 15 minutes and mainly consisting of praise for the Director, Miguel Bardem, it doesn`t really add much to your understanding of the picture or what it really aims to achieve. For all the enthusiasm that the cast and crew seem to share, you can`t help but feel that they were just glad to get some work.

Conclusion

Stylistically, `The Ugliest Woman in the world` walks the tightrope between `Big money sexy-yet-serious Sci-Fi thriller`, and ridiculously over-ambitious B-Movie, the result being that it`s difficult to know exactly how seriously to take it. Admittedly, this may be as much of a cultural difference as anything, considering that the frequently used news bulletins in Spanish will put many a British viewer in mind of the Fast Show`s Channel 9 spoof (it`s actually Channel 10 in this case), and will therefore render them comedic by default.

However, there is a more pressing question that bubbles to the surface of the consciousness - who exactly is the film aimed at? In attempting to figure out this DVD`s demographic, it seems best to take a broad overview of its most obvious attributes; in no particular order we see Breasts, Cops, Nuns, Feminism, Guns, Gore, Scantily Clad women, Glass eyes, Scientists and Armoured Tanks. This either suggests that `The Ugliest woman …` is directly aimed at teenage boys, or it`s more for those who haven`t got the time to sit through various films of differing genres, and so would much prefer something which neatly presents them with all the meaty goodness of several movies at once. In this respect, this film certainly delivers.

Of course, this desire to satisfy makes getting deeper into the plots and intricacies of the story a great deal more difficult. Even though we know of Lola`s disfigurement and desire to murder beauty queens, there is far too much time devoted to the Detectives working on the case, which gives us less of a chance to explore the psyche of the female star.

It could be that this is just because, despite this being a picture which tries to say its piece about inner beauty and the evils of misogyny, the Director can`t quite allow us empathise with her. It`s a shame, but it really does feel like Miguel Bardem`s walked to the end of the plank and, instead of taking the plunge, walked right back.

Sometimes you wish they`d just go ahead and jump in.