Sortilège

This is one of the cleverest adaptations of a classic fable since "The Nutty Professor" (Jekyll & Hyde). Here in "Beastly" we have an adaptation of "Beauty and the Beast" set in contemporary New York and revolving around the image-obsessed youth of a fashionable High School in the trendy urban district. I know, right? Awesome premise. The execution may not be quite as awesome, but ultimately I think it's a great flick to watch when you're in the mood for a creative morality play.

What makes it work is the depiction of the "Beast". I won't ruin it for you (if the movie posters haven't already), but here, unlike other tellings of the tale which portray the Beast as a majestic animal, we get a Beast who is not only "ugly" in terms of scars and bad skin, but more importantly he is made to look like an outcast. He doesn't look like a literal beast/monster, but instead he looks very human but the kind of human who would make you cross the street to avoid.

In that respect it turns the microscope on ourselves because we the audience are repulsed without any justification. I thought this was a fantastic starting point.

The rest of the film may feel sort of like a predictable teen romance, without much tension or or peril, but it keeps our attention and gives us thoughts which we can apply directly to our lives, unlike typical enchanted fairytales which we approach as pure fantasy.

Beyond the predictable, there's one character who really livened things up and I wish there were more of him: "Will" played by Neil Patrick Harris (yes! Doogie Howser M.D.). Will plays the role of the Beast's sarcastic, wisecracking teacher. This gives the story an element of humor and wisdom at the same time, as Will is sort of the Beast's "Mr. Miagi".

"Beastly" is mostly family-friendly (PG-13 due to some violence and a bit of crude language, though I don't remember hearing any outright profanity). So don't expect a harsh, gritty drama. This film is definitely on the lighter side. Movies I would compare this to include: Penelope (2006) starring Christina Ricci as a girl with a pig snout, or maybe something like Practical Magic (1998) starring Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock as two witches looking for love in a small town. If you like breezy supernatural romances, definitely check this out.

My girls begged me to take them to see this movie as they are big fans of Vanessa Hudgens, Alex Pettyfer and Mary-Kate Olsen. As young teenagers of 13, they both loved the movie and would rate it 9 out of 10. I however, will rate it a 6. My favourite character was Neil Patrick Harris (Will), the blind tutor.... he made me laugh at almost all the scenes he was in.

I did enjoy some of the characters, and Vanessa was very convincing as Lindy, and played her part well. I enjoyed Mary-Kate's character as, Kendra. It was fun seeing her in a different acting role then the many years of having watched her on Full House and all those cute Olson Twin movies. So all in all, I enjoyed my evening out with my girls. Please keep in mind that we did not know this movie was based on a book, which is probably why my girls enjoyed it so much.

I was so looking forward to this movie and was so sad that I was disappointed it wasn't quite up to expectations. I did not read the book but I saw the trailer for this a few months back and Beauty and the Beast had always been my favourite Disney movie. A modern retelling, good-looking leads, gorgeous cinematography and Neil Patrick Harris? Perfect ingredient for a good old romance movie, I'd say.

But I was wrong. The movie even started on the wrong foot, with Alex Pettyfer's dismal acting. Maybe he's been doing so many action movies that putting on the skin of a romantic lead was a little hard. His portrayal of the vain, selfish and mean lead was unconvincing at best. Now, the best part of Beast's transformation was the coming-of-age of the spoiled 'prince' into a rage-filled beast and finally into a selfless man transformed by love. None of that were evident in Kyle Kingson. He was a brat, then a whiny stalker, and finally an emo dude.

Vanessa Hudgens also gave a cringe-worthy performance. She was so flat and void of personality that it was painful to watch. Beside the bad acting, the plot was also a little draggy, lacking in climax and real emotion. You don't feel drawn to the characters, you don't feel convinced by the emotions and you will cringe at the incredibly cheesy lines. In fact, my sister and I kept mumbling 'Don't say it! Don't say it!" throughout the movie because a clichéd one-liner is always around the corner.

The one saving grace was Neil Patrick Harris, but that's only because he brought his 'Barney Stinson' persona into the movie. Though I absolutely adore Barney, it would be nice to see NPH bring something different to the plate.

All in all, I'd say watch this movie if you're looking for style, but don't go looking for substance. There's not much to be had.

I was so excited to see this movie after hearing about it. I loved the book and was extremely excited for the movie. That movie was so far from the book they could have renamed it. The movie had strong characters but a weak plot and barely any climax. Compared to the book, that was a complete butchering of the story. They cut out some extremely important events within the book. The ending was completely ruined. It was supposed to be full of suspense and adventure, excitement and nerve. The movies ending was dull and pointless. It was completely changed from the events that happened to the location of the events. THE NAMES IN THE MOVIE WEREN'T EVEN RIGHT!! I was disappointed. Basing it an a movie stand point, and not compared to the book, it was okay. Boring and cute. A basic romance. Nothing to special. Definitely not something I would see again. I was extremely disappointed with this movie. I would have thought it would have been better since they postponed the release date for half a year. If you ask me, wait for the DVD and don't waste your money.

"If he could learn to love another, and earn her love in return by the time the last petal fell, then the spell would be broken. If not, he would be doomed to remain a beast for all time." Disney's Beauty and the Beast

After the Twilight Series, I am Number Four, and now Beastly, I'm not sure I ever want to take that Hot Tub Time Machine back to those love-weary days. I mean, are these kids getting any love these days, or is their passion filtering through cell phones as their fingers do the walking rather than the stroking? Beastly once again shows teen longing relieved by the workings of magic, not old-fashioned getting-to-know you stuff their grandparents labored through.

Kyle (Alex Pettyfer straight from his boring turn as a hunk with little affect in I am Number Four) learns from his distant dad that looks are what count in life. As he imputes this "aggressively-unattractive" characterization to Goth Kendra (Mary-Kate Olsen), she condemns him to being all he hates, largely ugly, until someone says "I love you" to him.

Beauty waiting to be rescued, Lindy (Vanessa Hudgens), falls into the protective custody of now ugly Beast, Hunter (Kyle). And there you have Beauty and the Beast revived for 2011 teens. Dramatically the audience can anticipate every outcome, not just because of the adapted classic's well-worn story, but because the dialogue is pedestrian enough to telescope it all anyway.

The blind tutor, Will (Neil Patrick Harris), has some wry commentary, suited to the off-beat characters Harris usually plays, that saves this adolescent sentimental claptrap from my damnation. I get it that beauty is from within; I just don't buy why all the teens should be hot when most in real life are pimpled and gawky. It's too bad some wizardry couldn't save Beastly from mediocrity—but then I would need resuscitation that I finally had a teen weeper worthy of an audience smarter than filmmakers give them credit.