Beastly as a book (by Alex Flinn) grated on my nerves. I enjoyed the concept, and I certainly felt like it had a message that was more tuned into what teens do today as opposed to the original fairy tale or even the Disney movie of twenty years ago. Fairy Tales are just morality stories when you get right down to it, stories that were told to children to teach them some sort of lesson. Beastly strived to do that in a relatable fashion for today’s teens–through high school.
Kyle Kingson (get the clever play on words there?) has everything a person could want. Gorgeous looks, limitless money, and King of Popularity at his elite high school. After campaigning to be Green Committe President, on one of the most shallow and obnoxiously awful speeches I’ve ever heard (he practically tells everyone they’re ugly so they don’t deserve anything, but he’s beautiful so he does), he does a bit of flirting with Lindy, gets dissed by the school “witch” Kendra, and prepares for his win. Making the monumentally stupid decision to piss off Kendra at the election after party, Kendra invokes arcane arts and tells him to “embrace the suck” and turns him into, as he puts it later on, “the lead character in a slasher movie.”
The obvious lesson here is that he needs to learn to value others (as well as himself) on things other than looks. He finds out as the movie goes on that the creed his father taught him to live by (good looking = success) is wrong, and there are more important things in life.
The movie scored major points for driving home the moral without seeming preachy, something the book never quite sold me on. Really it’s because Alex Pettyfer did such a wonderful job as Kyle/Hunter. The make-up artist managed to mangle him up in such a way that it felt way more plausible then the book (which leaned more towards the traditional view of the Beast with claws and fur), but Pettyfer’s expressions and mannerisms still shone through.
I have little enough love for Vanessa Hudgens– High School Musical was a crime against humanity if you ask me–but I found her mostly endearing. I say mostly because I don’t like how she smiles. It always felt like she was smirking or had the cat who got the cream smile. She did have the awkward social outcast role down pat, however.
Practically the only reason my sister managed to convince to go out to see this movie, other than to see Alex Pettyfer shirtless multiple times, was Neil Patrick Harris. That man makes watching paint exciting. With wit and charm, he played Will, Kyle’s blind tutor, and didn’t miss a beat. His sardonic quip “While most my peers were losing their virginity at 15, I lost my sight” before throwing an almost perfect bulls-eye on the dartboard, was only one of the wonderful quotes.
The real surprise for me was how much I loved Mary-Kate Olsen in the movie as the witch Kendra. I was a fan of the Olsen twins growing up (I still have several banker boxes of their movies and CDs somewhere) and felt sad when they grew up and seemed so lost. But seeing Mary-Kate in this movie, my love came back. She plays the role with just the right hint of mystery and confidence. She also got to wear some of the coolest outfits and make-up.
Some of the dialogue is awkward, and the pacing is a little suspect at times, but the movie had a lot of heart and handled a lot of things delicately. Will’s blindness, Zola’s family being so far away, Lindy’s father’s substance abuse issues, and Kyle’s father’s neglect are not glorified or overwrought.
There’s a lot to enjoy about this movie, and as far as I’m concerned it’s a perfect compliment to the book.
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