The Beauty: imperfect but seductive (review)
Ryan Murphy’s fun and outrageous new creation arrives today on Disney Plus. And it will not leave you indifferent.
Ryan Murphy is not one to play it safe. The prolific creator returns to Disney+ today with The Beauty, a trashy farce with controlled excessive beauty.
As a mysterious virus infects the world’s supermodels, two FBI agents are tasked with investigating. They quickly discover a strange injection capable of transforming anyone into a sublime model: a genetically optimized beauty, which allows everyone to strive towards their absolute aesthetic perfection. And being beautiful… that changes everything! The world is finally looking at you and opening up to you… Except that the side effects are deadly: the serum has turned into a sexually transmitted virus, and its unstable formula is causing worldwide carnage. The FBI is on the hunt to trace its creator, obviously in search of eternal youth…
The bad guy is Ashton Kutcher, who has the time of his life as a cartoon villain without scruples. The former of The Ranch and That ’70s Show, rather accustomed to the roles of nice naive people, here stands out in the game of massacre, a chilling figure ready to do anything to remain beautiful. Evan Peters and Rebecca Hall are on his trail, and form a duo of investigators in tune, in the middle of a chaos populated by crazy characters. A gallery of colorful supporting roles, which opens with Bella Hadid, simply explosive in a stunning Parisian opening sequence.
No doubt: The Beauty is pure Ryan Murphy, without filter. A macabre satire that veers into dark burlesque, without ever taking gloves. It almost feels like a new chapter of American Horror Story. Morbid and spectacular, the series lives on its excesses: very graphic scenes that stick to the eyes, sex on all levels, naked bodies filmed ad nauseam in an ostensibly dirty or crude concert. This beauty would even be rather vulgar. But it’s also the Murphy signature: always go further. Master of too much, he imagined, wrote and produced a totally excessive work, faithful to his credo for years, from the maligned All’s Fair to the ultra-violent biopic on Ed Gein (Monster).
In his constant desire to shock, Murphy tends to neglect the substance. The Beauty, however, questions the obsession with perfection, mocking the contemporary quest for perfect bodies sold as the illusion of well-being… by featuring Hollywood actors and actresses whose beauty is intrinsically their livelihood. The critical discourse inevitably falls short, as the sincerity of the statement is called into question by the figures who carry it and this obvious pleasure taken in the exhibition of the grotesque.
Maybe we just shouldn’t look for any deeper meaning in Murphy’s orgasmic madness. The Beauty is gory and glamorous entertainment, provocative, exhilarating, impressive and in bad taste. All at once. And it won’t leave anyone indifferent. In his image.
The Beauty, season 1 in 11 episodes, to watch on Disney + from January 22, 2026.
