PRINTMovie review: Beastly
Under the beauty of famous actors, this film contains no ugly qualities
Courtesy of CBS Films
March 5, 2011 | 10:30 a.m. CST
Taken to a modern level with tattoos, drug references and scars, Beastly quickly becomes a true-to-form, updated version of the classic Beauty and the Beast. With a little less hair and no thematic Disney songs, this film (actually based off of the novel, Beastly) takes audience for 95 minute to a place not so far, far away.
Kyle (Alex Pettyfer) needs to learn that looks aren’t everything in life and while running in a school election. After he wins the election, either because his peers are scared or want to keep up their social statuses, Kendra (Mary-Kate Olsen), the school witch, performs her magic on him. It’s permanent unless, you guessed it, he finds someone to say “I love you” within a year. After wallowing in self-pity for five months, Alex finally realizes someone else in the world might matter when the drug dealer of classmate Lindy’s (Vanessa Hudgens) father threatens her life. She moves in with him for protection, but he hopes to slowly work his way into her heart.
Related MovieFor the transition from beauty to beastly, the makeup on Pettyfer makes audience members cringe when they get an up-close look at his face. A success when one imagines the hours put into every detail of scar and tattoo. Aside from Pettyfer, Olsen’s makeup described her eccentric character’s personality perfectly, especially when accentuating her eyes, which served as a constant reminder to Kyle throughout the movie.
Standing for its significance of loyalty and time, the white rose plays a significant theme of time passing throughout the movie, much like the red rose in the Disney film. A more inventive way to keep the film progressing, instead of petals falling from a cased-in rose, Kyle’s tree tattoo on his arm changes with the seasons. The final white roses show that he is out of time.
Although more chemistry between Pettyfer and Hudgens would have been helpful, the film works as a teen flick looking to revitalize a well-known storyline. The subtle references to tale-as-old-as-time themes create a dynamic worthy of a good movie night, and shows that beauty isn’t only skin-deep.
Vox Rating:
