Movie Review: Beastly (2011)

The plot:


Kyle (Alex Pettyfer) is a hot young dude with smoking good looks, a fat wallet, and a modern white flat. He is arrogant, narcissistic and superficial not wanting to be involved with anyone who has less than a pretty face. For him, looks are everything. Lindy (Vanessa Hudgens) on the other hand, is a smart girl who's got substance. She catches Kyle's eye as he's making a speech for a student election and she lets him know that she's real and down-to-earth.

Kendra (Mary Kate Olsen) is a goth batch mate and is perceived to be a witch- and in fact, she is. Kyle makes the mistake of offending her and making fun of her so she punishes him by making him a scarred freak. In exchange for his good looks back, he's got a year to make a girl fall for him and say I love you. 


Kyle's dad is embarrassed by him and puts him in his own home to hide. Soon enough, Will (Neil Patrick Harris) is sent by his dad as a tutor. Oddly, Lindy also winds up living with them on the premise that Hunter (name which Kyle named the scarred freak, which is him) can and will protect her. Eventually, Kyle / Hunter and Lindy form a friendship which gives Hunter the sole chance to be Kyle once again.

My review:


I actually haven't heard about this film until I've read a lot of tweets from my twitter contacts so I finally decided to download it. Judging from their raves, I expected it to be good and I was disappointed.

Beastly attempts at a modern-day Beauty and The Best re-telling and it's not a pretty sight. Although I believe that the film has not deviated much from its inspiration, it doesn't fit in the real world. For instance, the part where Lindy transfers to live with Hunter in his home is very out of place in the modern set up. Given that she has an addict for a father, nobody in their right minds would agree to staying locked up in a home of a person they know nothing about, let alone someone they "haven't even met".

Although Pettyfer is a real eye candy, his acting is too limited. I do not think that he had the capability to stretch the role as much as he would've liked given that he spent most of the airtime under his hood. Also, I've long disgusted over Hudgens since her High School Musical days and I don't think this particular role has done much good to her career. I do think her acting is more natural than Pettyfer's though. As a couple, I think they had forced chemistry or lack thereof.

The only thing I sort of liked about this film is Harris- and not even much as he embodied his character from How I Met Your Mother.

Again, another movie that is a one-time watch. I think the script is poorly written and the cast did not bring life to it either.
My rating: 2 / 5

The film is rated PG-13 for language, including crude comments, brief violence and some thematic material according to the MPAA


Running time is 86 minutes (USA)


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