Hating Alison Ashley

Erica Yurken's (Saskia Burmeister) life sucks: her family is an embarrassment, her acting genius is unrecognised and her very name invites ridicule, resulting in loathed nicknames such as Yuk, Erk, even Gerkin. So from the moment the absolutely perfect Alison Ashley (Delta Goodrem) arrives at school, there's going to be trouble. Yuk had always felt superior to everyone at Barringa East until she met Alison, for Alison is everything Yuk has ever wanted to be. To cover up her feelings of inadequacy, Yuk invents fantastic lies to glamorize her life. And when Alison doesn't believe a word of it, Yuk hates her even more. She flings herself into competition against Alison, determined to finally upstage her in the school play. Then Yuk's understanding of the world shifts dramatically when she realises she's not an actress after all, her self-centred antics get her into trouble and her salvation comes from the family she was so ashamed of and the very girl she so loathed. Finally Yuk sees the loneliness behind's Alison's not-so-perfect life and comes to grips with her own solid reality. (Arclight Films)