MovieChat Forums > General Discussion > The Plain Girl Syndrome

The Plain Girl Syndrome

posted 2 years ago by jriley555 (8551)
54 replies | jump to latest

Have you noticed that, increasingly, plain girls play the top roles ? That the guys are as often as not prettier than the women they play opposite to ? I offer, as evidence :

Anne Hathaway
Kiera Knightly
Julia Stiles
Jennifer Garner

A lot of these Netflix series have that aspect, a plain-jane as the central female character and a supposed love interest.

I'm not saying they have to be playboy material, but at least ... cute.

Fight me on this, if you like. Do you see this as a trend, or do you find, for example, the aforementioned actresses someone you'd look twice at on the street.

[–] BillHicksFan (10717) 2 years ago

Before we fight (lol), let's get our terminology clear.
How would you define the woman below?

I just looked up all those women you listed, and don't think they are plain. But I'm not attracted to any of them. Stiles looks a little like Megan Kelley.

[–] jriley555 (8551) 2 years ago

Cute face. chunky. just being brutally honest about my taste, which is a vote of one.

Megyn Kelley I think many would allow was attractive. She doesn't particularly do it for me (something about her nose), but I could see her turning a few heads.

[–] BillHicksFan (10717) 2 years ago

I meant, as in, classification. Would you call her "plain"? Something else?

Megyn Kelley isn't attractive to me, either. Nostrils are too big. Too tall. Not my type.

[–] jriley555 (8551) 2 years ago

Her chunkyness would render her plain, or 'cute but...'

But who am I, the arbiter of attractiveness ? You can make up your own mind, bro.

[–] BillHicksFan (10717) 2 years ago

lol.. As I said earlier, I'm just trying to get the vocabulary on the right page. It's not about better/worse, just language. I guess I can't lump them all together. But I don't think Her Holy Chunkiness is in the same category; just like I don't think they're necessarily plain, despite not being into them...

The reason I replied was because (like in this thread) people ask "What's your type" and when I would say "plain" or "girl next door" types, and it didn't coincide. I guess I don't really know all the classifications out there. People seem to just say "She's hot" or will give you the 1-10 rating, which I also like (especially for movies)

Actually, "feminine" might be a good word to describe my likes. No strong jaw bone. Long hair. Features that define a woman (t&a). Cheekbones that look the opposite of mine.

[–] jriley555 (8551) 2 years ago

Agree. I'm sort of, perhaps, old-fashioned. I don't need (or necessarily want) a skinny woman with muscles.

[–] BillHicksFan (10717) 2 years ago

Oh yeah, forgot all about those! I guess I'm picky, but I need to find the proper terminology to find "my type".... The interesting thing is, all the beautiful women in movies were in minor roles, I don't even remember their names. I also preferred Liz Taylor when she was my age (40), because she filled up, got curvy. She was in some "far-out" movies in the late 60/70s.. Some bad ones, despite being unique. "Secret Ceremony" is a good one. Did ya see that?
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063571/
Liz Taylor, Robert Mitchum, Mia Farrow. If it had a double feature, "The Night Digger" would be it. Eerie movies focused on characters. Not predictable.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067486/

For some more comedy... 20 years later...

[–] jriley555 (8551) 2 years ago

Liz, young or old, was stunning.

I loved her in Night Watch, a nice twisty gem w/ Laurence Harvey

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070444/