Tony’s Take: Beautiful ‘Betty’ (September 1, 2006)

She was ?Betty the Ugly? (the original title), now she?s just ?Ugly Betty??which I guess is better than being the star of a show called, ?Fugly?.

Actually, whatever you call America ?Ugly Betty? Ferrera, the star of ABC?s funny, heartwarming new dramedy doesn?t matter. Because, what you?ll be calling her after seeing the show?s debut is—lovable, adorable and yes, the trifecta of that emotion, huggable!

Here?s the pitch in a nutshell:

Ugly, talented, heart-of-gold girl goes to work at snooty NYC fashion mag. Insults, humiliation, comedy, redemption and drama occur?not necessarily in that order.Kinda a TV ?The Devil Wears Prada.?

I met America for the first time the other day on the show?s set. Yes, braces, funky glasses, gnarly eyebrows, unflattering dress and all. More on the eyebrows later.

You may remember America from her surprisingly wonderful debut in the movie ?Real Women Have Curves?. If you do, you?re not the only one. You see, Salma Hayek watched it, too?and said to herself, ?Self, I am going to work with that girl some day.?

Well, that day is now. You see, Selma is the executive producer of ?Ugly Betty?. She?s the catalyst behind bringing this hugely popular Colombian telenovela ?Yo Soy Betty La Fea? to both the Americas, Ferrera and the United States.

America (not our nation) told me she was floored when Salma came to her with this show and wanted her to be the star. She didn?t know that Salma even knew her name.

Long story short?she?s now Betty?the show?s great (and Vanessa Williams as the conniving, botox injecting diva fashionista Wilhelmina Slater is perfect casting).

As for those Betty eyebrows?well that leads me to an admission. You see, sometimes when I?m interviewing a star?I get distracted. For those of you who read this and know me, you?re saying (sarcastically), ?No, reallllly??

Yes kids, I get distracted?by many things? but in Hollywood it?s usually what some beautiful star is wearing (which they wear to get noticed) on the red carpet, etc?Obviously, like you who see it at home and say, ?How does she wear that?or how do those stay put???I?m standing next to the person and am thinking the same thing.If you look closely, you can see my mind working and by the time they finish their answer?I haven?t a clue what they said!! There, I?ve said it. It?ll be our little secret.

Don?t tell my boss.

Actually, what usually happens next is?is that I will ask them exactly what I was thinking?and usually those are the best and most memorable moments.So, back to the interview with America in her ?Betti-fied? (as opposed to ?beautified?) state and those wily eyebrows. Up close, they look like little furry critters.

Suddenly, I noticed they?re ALIVE!

As she?s answering one of my questions, I could swear they were moving. Furry little creatures moving ever-so-slightly as her eyebrows. I try not to stare, but it?s happened again, I?m distracted.

So, I stopped her in mid-answer to tell her I can?t concentrate because I suddenly became fascinated with her eyebrows (I don?t dare tell her I think they?re moving lest she think me wacky!).

She just looks up at me, smiles that big shiny mouth-full-of-braces smile, and laughs.

And I want to give her a hug, furry critters and all.