Ryan Murphy, bless his chaotic heart, has done it again. Though, perhaps “done it” is too strong a word. He’s… *released* something. And that something, The Beauty, currently streaming on Disney+, is a spectacular, spectacularly silly descent into body horror and Ozempic-era anxieties. It’s not quite the disaster that was All’s Fair – a project so spectacularly awful it made Kim Kardashian’s acting debut look like a masterclass – but it’s a strong contender for most bewildering television of the year.
- The series leans heavily into the current cultural obsession with rapid physical transformation, specifically referencing the rise of drugs like Ozempic.
- Evan Peters and Rebecca Hall are saddled with dialogue that feels less like witty banter and more like a prolonged exercise in tedium.
- Anthony Ramos’s “The Assassin,” complete with a metal eyepatch, is a prime example of Murphy’s penchant for style over substance.
The timing of The Beauty’s release, just two months after Demi Moore’s genuinely unsettling The Substance, is… interesting. While Moore’s film offered a sharp, satirical take on the pressures faced by women in Hollywood, Murphy’s offering feels more like a frantic collage of ideas, desperately trying to be provocative without actually saying anything meaningful. It’s a key difference. One is great, the other is, as the review succinctly puts it, “muck.”
Murphy claims the series is a commentary on “Ozempic culture.” Perhaps. But it feels more like a convenient justification for a plot involving exploding supermodels and a priapic incel transformed into an impossibly handsome superspreader. The whole thing is a mess of globetrotting thrills, body horror, and Murphy’s signature blend of camp and cack-handed satire. The casting of Ashton Kutcher as a tech billionaire, “The Corporation,” feels particularly on the nose – a meta-commentary on his own image, perhaps? Or just… Ashton Kutcher.
The industry play here is fascinating. Murphy is a brand unto himself, and Disney+ clearly believes his name still carries enough weight to justify these increasingly outlandish projects. This feels less like a genuine artistic statement and more like a calculated risk: throw enough at the wall, and *something* will stick. Even if that something is just a viral clip of someone exploding. Isabella Rossellini’s inclusion, however, feels genuinely sad; a talent wasted on this level of excess.
Whether The Beauty will have any lasting impact remains to be seen. But one thing is certain: Ryan Murphy will continue to be Ryan Murphy, and Disney+ will continue to let him. The question isn’t whether this show is good, but whether it’s *interesting* enough to keep the conversation going. And, for now, it certainly is.
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