Random Thoughts on the Movie “Beastly”

We saw the movie “Beastly” this weekend, and I went into it without much thought. A co-worker of mine suggested it, based off of the book, but she said that the movie seemed like a big departure from the book, so no big expectations. The premise: beautiful rich boy Kyle (Alex Pettyfer – also from I Am Number Four) is way too cocky and pisses off the wrong person Kendra (Mary-Kate Olsen). She casts a spell on him that transforms him into an ugly beast so that he appreciates his life more. The contingency of the curse is that he has to find love within 12 months or be this beast forever. While Kyle’s dad is also firmly based on beauty, he ships him out of the city and puts him in a house where he is out of the way and out of sight of everyone. He gets a tutor for him, Will (Neil Patrick Harris), who’s blind so that he can’t see the horror that is his son. While he is in a “woe-is-me” state of mind, his clock is ticking by and he hasn’t come close to finding someone to say “I love you” to him to break the spell, until he starts stalking (Vanessa Hudgens), and realizes that her home-life is less than perfect with a junkie father who has had a run-in with a gang. He offers to take her in to protect her and now she feels like his prisoner. After many angsty weeks of him trying to buy her affection, they manage to strike a friendship once he realizes that she’s “not that kind of girl” and when he finally reveals his face to her, she isn’t surprised at all by what she sees. They become friends very quickly and he falls in love with her, but she is only interested in him as a friend (typical, right). He takes this very hard, but in the end it all works out. It’s kind of a twist on “Beauty and the Beast,” but not really. What I didn’t understand is that in today’s society, the way he looked wasn’t really that bad, there are people who take body modification to new levels and with piercings and tattoos, he could have been much, MUCH worse! If you’re in the mood to see a romantic movie with the significant other, I’d definitely recommend this one for you and your sweetie to settle down with a bowl of popcorn! I give it 3 out of 5 stars total.