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July 2011
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Beastly

My rating: 2 stars


I started this movie thinking of the book and how much I loved it. To my disappointment, the movie wasn’t I would have expected it to be. First of all, Kyle, the main character, wasn’t even turned into a hairy beast, like in the book. He was transformed into a weirdly tattooed, veiny and scarred Voldemort-type guy. I feel like that really let go of it being a modern Beauty and the Beast. Another reason why this movie just wasn’t my cup of tea is that it was just kind of plain old boring. After halfway through the film, I had no desire to watch the rest. It just wasn’t grabbing and keeping a hold on my attention.
The one thing I really liked about this film was Neil Patrick Harris. He played Kyle’s tutor, Will, who also happens to be blind. I feel like he did the best job out of the whole cast. Yes, even better than Vanessa Hudgens.
If you read the book and loved it, I’d suggest not watching this film. It doesn’t do the book justice.

Comments

Comment from Taylor H
Time July 30, 2011 at 7:38 PM

The movie is awful in comparison to the book in my opinion. If you like the modern day retelling of fairytales, Alex Flinn, the author of Beastly had another book titled “A Kiss In Time”. It’s the modern version of Sleeping Beauty. I really enjoyed it; you might too.

Comment from Kenna
Time August 12, 2011 at 6:07 PM

I definitely get what you’re saying about Kyle’s appearance! It’s “Beauty and the BEAST”, not “Beauty and the Wrinkly Guy”.

But, on the other side of the coin, I can understand why the studio did what they did. The trailers and merchandising were based on romance, and it’s hard to get teenagers interested in a romance with a hairy thing. I think a better director and a better cast could’ve pulled it off in a “truer-to-the-book” way, but as is, I actually think this was the best they were capable of.

And yes. Neil Patrick Harris was the shiz in that movie 🙂

Comment from bri
Time August 12, 2011 at 10:07 PM

Exactly. I agree with everything you said. It definitely would have been hard to market a romance between a teenager and a hairy beast. x) I think better actors would have made the movie better, too.