You’ve probably seen the title floating around your Netflix homepage or trending on social media. Maybe you clicked on it thinking you were about to watch a documentary about a child model or a shallow competition about aesthetics. But The Most Beautiful Girl in the World is actually a 2025 Indonesian romantic comedy that surprised a lot of people by being way more about corporate satire and personal growth than just "pretty faces."
It hit the platform on Valentine’s Day 2025. Directed by Robert Ronny, the movie stars Reza Rahadian and Sheila Dara Aisha. Honestly, if you follow Indonesian cinema, you know these two are heavyweights. Rahadian is basically the go-to leading man in Southeast Asia, and their chemistry here is what keeps the whole thing from falling apart when the plot gets, well, a little weird.
The Plot: More Than Just a Title
Basically, the story follows Reuben (played by Reza Rahadian), a cynical playboy who is the heir to a massive media conglomerate called WIN TV. His father, Gunadi, dies and leaves a really bizarre condition in his will. To inherit the family fortune and the company, Reuben has to marry "the most beautiful girl in the world."
Instead of going on a global search, Reuben does what any media prince would do: he turns it into a reality show.
- The Show: A "Bachelor-style" competition where women compete for his hand.
- The Twist: Reuben hates the show's trashy vibe and teams up with a producer, Kiara (Sheila Dara Aisha), to try and make it more "authentic."
- The Outcome: Naturally, as they try to deconstruct the misogyny of reality TV, they start falling for each other.
It sounds like a standard rom-com premise, right? But the second half of the movie takes a hard left turn. About midway through, the couple gets stranded on an island. It’s a total shift in tone. Some critics, like those at Tempo, felt this made the movie feel uneven. Others found it a sweet way to let the characters actually talk without the cameras and the "reality show" noise.
Why Everyone Is Talking About Reza Rahadian and Sheila Dara
You can’t talk about The Most Beautiful Girl in the World on Netflix without mentioning the leads. This was actually their second big collaboration after What We Lose to Love in 2022.
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Reza Rahadian has this way of playing a "privileged jerk" who you still kind of want to see win. In this film, his character Reuben starts out pretty insufferable. He’s cynical, he’s a playboy, and he treats the search for a wife like a business transaction. But Sheila Dara’s Kiara is the perfect foil. She’s a career-driven producer who has zero time for his nonsense.
The chemistry isn’t just about "will they, won't they." It’s about two people in a high-pressure industry trying to find something real in a world that is literally scripted for TV. Jennifer Green from Common Sense Media gave it a 3-star rating, noting that while it’s a bit corny, the acting is what carries it.
The Production Reality vs. The Online Rumors
There was a lot of confusion when this movie first dropped. People kept searching for "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World" expecting a story about Thylane Blondeau (the French model who was famously given that title as a child) or some kind of fashion documentary.
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Netflix actually leaned into this ambiguity. By using such a universal, click-heavy title, they managed to get people into the "room," even if the movie was a scripted Indonesian romance.
Key Production Facts:
- Written by: Titien Wattimena and Ifan Ismail (the same duo behind The Red Point of Marriage).
- Studio: Produced by Paragon Pictures.
- Language: Originally in Bahasa Indonesia, but Netflix released it with dubs in English, Spanish, Portuguese, and Polish.
- Rating: It’s rated TV-14, mostly for some language and "thematic elements" involving the reality show drama.
Is It Actually Worth Your Saturday Night?
If you’re looking for a deep, philosophical exploration of beauty, this isn't it. But if you want a feel-good romance that pokes fun at how fake reality TV is, it’s a solid watch. The movie is about 122 minutes long.
One thing that really stands out—and what most people get wrong—is the "beauty" part. The movie eventually argues that "the most beautiful girl" isn't the winner of a pageant. It’s the person who challenges you to be less of a jerk. It's cheesy? Yeah. But in 2026, sometimes a bit of earnest cheesiness is exactly what the algorithm needs.
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The ending is surprisingly conclusive. Unlike a lot of Netflix originals that leave the door wide open for a sequel, this one ties up the inheritance plot and the romance fairly neatly. You won't be left wondering what happened to Reuben’s father’s company.
How to Get the Most Out of the Movie
To really enjoy The Most Beautiful Girl in the World, you should watch it with the original Indonesian audio and subtitles. The dubbing is fine, but you lose a lot of the subtle sarcasm in Reza Rahadian’s delivery.
If you've already finished it and want something similar, look into Layla Majnun or The Red Point of Marriage. They feature the same level of high-production Indonesian storytelling that Netflix has been investing in lately.
Check your Netflix "Search" bar for the title exactly as it is—just make sure you're looking at the 2025 release with the Paragon Pictures logo to avoid the older, unrelated films with the same name.