Magandang dilag

This ugly duckling Cinderella trope wasn't new in teleseryes, but if they were going to write it similarly to hit shows like "La Vida Lena, and The Glory", they needed to make it even better. So the show cast Herlene Budol as the lead, fresh off from her Beauty Queen pageant victory, which somewhat mirrored her character in the series. Many people actually thought her beauty queen career wouldn't take off because of her real-life openly "dumb" persona, yet, plot twist, she won the title.

The series featured a wealthy, The Glory-like group of friends who tormented Budol's character and ended up stealing the money she inherited from her long-lost wealthy father. Like in every revenge story, she met someone who helped her plot her revenge. She underwent plastic surgery, altered her face, and changed her name. Soon enough, Budol encountered Gomez again, someone who broke her heart but eventually falls in love with her after she disappeared for a long time. (Bella Aldama, anyone?)

Another hilarious moment in the series was that all of her villains were also real-life beauty queens. Maxine Medina delivered a stellar performance as the antagonist throughout the series, and most of the villains were well-performed. However, there were times when the performances felt flat, with some actors breaking character or forgetting their character's mannerisms. The dialogues were hilarious, and the witty snark made the show really interesting. But yeah, some directors shouldn't settle for "Okay na to" acting. These ladies needed a little push, especially Herlene Budol, who made every scene feel like it was literally scripted. Her lines were poorly delivered sometimes. Meanwhile, among the male cast, Alves and Alandy gave a more believable performances.