Upamanyu Biswas
Lifetime’s ‘Pretty Hurts’ tells the story of mother-daughter duo Julie and Lauren, whose lives change gears when the latter decides to enter into a beauty pageant that was previously dominated by her mom in her youth. Although motivated by the prospect of winning scholarship money for college, Lauren soon becomes engulfed in the dark culture of the competition, diverting her attention from the fact that her best friend, Rae, is falling seriously ill with a rare, deadly disease known as meningitis. Subsequently, the young girl must decide how to proceed with her beauty contest in the wake of her friend’s worsening circumstance. With Brian Herzlinger in the director’s chair, the drama movie tries to showcase the impact of meningitis on the lives of families and communities alike while layering it through a cutthroat world of falsehoods.
Pretty Hurts Shines a Spotlight on the Reality of a Rare Disease
Written by Lydia Genner, ‘Pretty Hurts’ is a work of fiction that shares no direct link with any specific real-life incident. Instead, the project is inspired by an amalgamation of experiences of families who have been impacted by meningitis, a disease that affects the protective membranes around the brain and spinal cord, presenting it through an original tale. The film is backed by GSK, a British multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company that raises awareness about meningococcal disease, also known as meningitis, through their Ask2BSure public health campaign. As this rare illness has an increased likelihood of affecting teens and young adults between the age ranges of 16 and 23, it holds a somber prescience among the youthful population.
When Lauren’s friend, Rae, falls prey to meningitis B, the film depicts the challenges faced by her family members and friends as a whole in trying to rally around a complicated situation. Thus, ‘Pretty Hurts’ tries to educate its viewers on the importance of spreading knowledge among parents of teens and their doctors, especially when it comes to preventing five groups of meningitis, A, B, C, W, and Y, through vaccination. In a press statement, Cynthia Burman, US Medical Affairs Lead for Neisseria Vaccines for GSK, said, “Working with Lifetime on this longer-form creative and educational film allows us to deliver impactful content to help empower parents in the US. to start the conversation with their teen’s doctor to find out if their teen is missing any meningococcal vaccinations.”
Pretty Hurts Uncovers the Toxic Side of a Pageant Competition
While health awareness forms the primary driving force for ‘Pretty Hurts,’ the film also targets another aspect of reality – the cutthroat world of competition. It does this through a beauty pageant where behind the flashy looks and beaming smiles lies a dark world brimming with deception, psychological manipulation, and a desire to win at all costs. Although not an inspiration, the real-life case of Wanda Webb Holloway bears some thematic resemblance with the movie’s plot. In 1991, Holloway, a woman from Channelview, Texas, allegedly tried to kill the mother of her daughter’s cheerleading rival, Amber, with the hope that the girl might drop out from the cheerleading team, opening up a spot for her own daughter. She was found guilty on charges of solicitation of capital murder, although the conviction was overturned later, and she accepted a plea deal in a second try.
In ‘Pretty Hurts,’ we see Julie, Lauren’s mother, enthused by the prospect of reliving her former pageant days through her daughter’s life. This parallels many stories of high expectations and vicarious living propagated by parents in real life, some of which have the potential to turn ugly for a variety of complex reasons, as illustrated in the Holloway case. However, it also presents a unique opportunity for Lauren and Julie to take a seemingly negative thing and turn it into a positive force for good. As she watches her friend Rae fight against meningitis, the protagonist realizes the power of using the pageant as a platform to champion a cause that could have a meaningful impact on the lives of those who are essential to her. This also circles back to the film’s central educational message of promoting a wider understanding of a rare and deadly disease.
A Mother and Daughter’s Bond Lies at the Emotional Core of Pretty Hurts
One of the notable aspects of ‘Pretty Hurts’ is its depiction of a healthy mother-and-daughter bond between Julie and Lauren, who are constantly supportive of one another at various stages. The bulk of this responsibility falls upon Julie’s shoulders as she witnesses her daughter facing the grim prospect of watching her friend suffer after contracting meningitis. To that end, Julie does her best to prop up Lauren as best as possible, allowing her the space to figure out her emotions while maintaining stable proximity to offer guardrails if necessary. It holds a mirror for how supportive parenting looks in contemporary culture, especially as one’s child enters a challenging period of growth where things might be chaotic and loose.
Haylie Duff, who plays Julie, revealed that one of the main reasons she was drawn to the project was because of the exploration of an in-depth “mother-daughter” and “parent-child” relationship. As a mother of two daughters herself, the actress explained that she felt a connection with Julie’s plight, seeing parts of herself reflected in her fictional character. In an interview, she opened up about her own experiences navigating motherhood and raising two children, stating, “You get to watch them navigate these struggles together. Bullying, perfectionism, the societal pressures within friend groups. You really get a front row seat to how a mother and daughter work together to figure out how to navigate these difficult times.” Thus, it added another layer of grounded reference from which the movie could be drawn.
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