The Beautician and the Beast

After looking at some of the scores people gave this movie I honestly didn't think it would amount to much. However, after actually watching it I found it to be surprisingly good. Fran Drescher plays "Joy Miller" who is a beautician in New York City. Timothy Dalton is "Boris Pochenko", a brutal tyrant of a small Eastern European country (Slovetzia) who has mistakenly hired Joy to teach his four children. His Prime Minister, "Leonid Kleist" (played by Patrick Malahide), insures that Boris rules with an iron fist. Joy arrives and becomes instrumental in introducing much needed change. More importantly though, she changes Boris for the better as well. Now, while this plot is extremely predictable, the comedy is anything but that as there are many surprises written into the script that are simply hilarious and I think the writer (Todd Graff) deserves a lot of credit for this. Likewise, even though Fran Drescher was nominated for a "Razzie Award" for her performance, I can honestly say that it was totally undeserved. I found her performance to be both witty and refreshing. I also liked the way she and Timothy Dalton worked so well together. The "massage scene" in particular was especially amusing. In closing, I thought this was a thoroughly enjoyable movie and well worth the time spent.

While I won't say that this is an excellent movie, I still like it for its irreverent sense of humor. The acting's pretty average, there seem to be so many plots going on at the same time, but it still makes for an entertaining and interesting watch, if only to see the Nanny in her first major big-screen role. She brings the trademark we know so well to the movie - her nasal voice and pre-occupation with the trivial stuff, but she also brings a kind of sensitivity we've never seen before in the Nanny series.

I quite like some of the scenes - how she teaches the kids what she knows (airline miles), the massage scene, the home-coming, and a lot of others that just seem to be made just for her.

This is such an adorable movie. Fran Drescher absolutely blew me away, I had no idea she was so talented -- in this movie she absolutely shines!! Her character "Joy Miller" is the Nanny all over again...but this time she has been hired (mistakenly) to teach the four children of a eastern-European dictator. She has amazing comic timing and plays well of off co-star Timothy Dalton, who is a wonderful President of Slovetzia, the tiny (made-up) country that most of the movie takes place in. He is at once a pompous and loveable character...his transformation from Beast to Man is a delight to watch. The plot is a mixture of "The Sound of Music," "The King and I," "Beauty and the Beast," and a kind of twisted Cinderella...but it all meshes together for an endearing (though very predictable) movie. A change from Tim Dalton's usual dramatic/spy movie genre...who knew he could be so funny? But he is, and the movie is adorable and I would highly recommend this if your a fan of Fran Drescher, Tim Dalton or romantic comedies in general!!

I was apprehensive when this film came on TV, but as there was nothing else on and I was bored I decided to give it a go. It began badly as I found Fran Drescher incredibly annoying, mainly due to her piercing New York accent. Timothy Dalton was fantastic in his role, and made me laugh a number of times. Ian McNeice was also quite good in what was essentially just a rehash of his role in Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls. The script wasn't excellent but did the job. The film did begin to lose momentum as Timothy Dalton became less beast-ly and the film is about half an hour too long, but those are really the only bad points. This film isn't a work of art, but it provides nice escapism for two hours. 6/10.

'The Beautician and the Beast' follows the line of the immensely 'The Sound of Music' and Drescher's own popular sitcom 'The Nanny'. It has the usual mushiness and fluffiness that other American rom-coms have (although this one is set in Eastern Europe) and it's accompanied by a nice soundtrack. However, what really sets this one apart is the delightfully funny Fran Drescher. Her character is no different from her unique persona as Nanny's Fran Fine but even so, her wit, charisma and comic timing are perfect. Those who find her annoying in 'The Nanny' would most likely hate this movie but for me, this actress makes it somewhat likable. Timothy Dalton as the beautician (just kidding) is quite adequate (his fake accent is hilarious) and both actors share a good chemistry. The rest are just okay, mostly gap fillers. There is nothing path-breaking about this movie but if one is a fan of Ms. Drescher then why not give this a try if you've got nothing else to lose?