Common Sense Media Review
By Kari Croop
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Pretty lame attempt at promoting inner beauty.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 15+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
In PRETTY WICKED, 10 women move into a posh loft under the pretense that they're competing in some sort of beauty contest. What they don't know is that they've been hand picked for their "ugly" personalities. Over the course of several weeks, one woman will emerge victorious, proving that she's as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside -- and she'll be $50,000 richer for her troubles.
Is It Any Good?
As far as train wrecks go, there's plenty of carnage to go around in this reality competition from Oxygen (the same "woman-centric" network that brought the world The Bad Girls Club). Need examples? In the show's very first episode, the contestants are asked to throw a party for a group of mystery guests, who turn out to be blind men. "I don't know anybody that's blind," said the woman who ended up winning the challenge. "Their eyes are all, you know, messed up because they're handicapped and stuff. I felt really bad for them."
So, OK. The premise of ferreting out inner beauty sounds promising. But we promise you that your teens will learn plenty of iffy lessons along with the show's central message that personality is far more important than looks. And, really, it all seems rather pointless anyway. Why would you hold a competition in which the contestants aren't likely to care whether they get kicked off or not? After all, isn't it easier for them to go back to their old ways instead of trying to change?
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about what messages the show sends about inner and outer beauty. Are both equally important? Why or why not? What traits make someone beautiful on the inside, and what traits make their insides ugly? Families can also discuss whether a show like this truly has the power to change someone's behavior -- or whether it's all just for the sake of entertainment.
TV Details
- Premiere date : March 31, 2009
- Cast : CariDee English , Jenn Berman , Mia Tyler
- Network : Oxygen
- Genre : Reality TV
- TV rating :
- Last updated : September 19, 2019
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