A Beauty & the Beast Christmas

Am not saying that to be horrible, or at least not intentionally so. The premise was somewhat intriguing, was looking to see the mix of romance, comedy and existing fairytale, being a fan of the 'Beauty and the Beast' story. 'A Beauty and the Beast Christmas' was seen with intrepidation though, due to hearing from trusted friends about its awfulness and have had a few film experiences that really were as bad as reputed. Saw it anyway being a fan of Christmas.

Unfortunately, 'A Beauty and the Beast Christmas' joins the pile of films that really are that bad and this is being said with regret. Have been known to go against the grain and do have a few contrary opinions of my own, but there are times where general consensus is agreed with and 'A Beauty and the Beast Christmas' is one of them. Actually found it quite insultingly bad, and this is coming from somebody who is usually encouraging watching and reviewing film and television and doesn't like being critical.

For one thing, 'A Beauty and the Beast Christmas' looks cheap. Especially the worse than amateurish editing that makes one feel nauseous. The music tends to be too constant and repetitive, so much so it got tiresome and made me want to switch the mute button on. The direction is non-existent pretty much, all looking like poorly thought through improvisation.

The acting from the whole cast is awful. Everybody overacts to a headache inducing degree and the tendency to speak too fast grated fast. The characters are more over exaggerated cartoons than real people and are impossible to connect with, they would have been if there were more signs of redeemable traits but instead there are a lot of character flaws being rammed down the throat. There is no energy or nuance in the character interaction, it is all manic and stiff to painful effect.

None of the character motivations are realistic and they are often rushed to the point of last minute feeling. The first half is an agonising chore to sit through, pace-wise it is a slog, very little happens, everything feels overdone. The dialogue, in a script filled to the brim with childishness and excessive cheese, is particularly risible early on to the extent that bailing is considered strongly. There is no charm, light heart or warmth, it was all too cartoonish and mean-spirited. The ending morally felt wrong and didn't ring true for a second.

In conclusion, a terrible beast of a film. 1/10.

This movie charmed me from the first by how thoroughly the lead actors threw themselves into their ditzy roles. It's not always easy to 'play shallow' with total conviction but they nailed it. Even the slimy agent was note-perfect in this one.

As a look into the appearance-is-everything world of social media influencers - people who are famous for the image they manufacture online - the plot is only too credible.

The personal emotional & psychological costs associated with the superficial glam are very much visible here: obsession with appearance, alienation from self & loved ones, inability to trust in love that sees beyond the surface.

To manage all that while still being screamingly funny is a feat indeed. So, not a brilliant movie but a hilarious cut above many holiday comedies.

If I could give 0 stars I would, it's so bad. There's such thing as so bad it's funny... well this is not the case here. Not at all...avoid and don't waste your time. How even got a rating of 4.5 is beyond me.

During the first ten minutes, I was wondering if I would get through this movie. I did not find the main character to be overly endearing (an important quality for me)...Once I realised this was actually poking fun though, I found it rather amusing and quite sweet.

I actually loved this spoof offering highlighting the shallow world of social influencers and how ridiculous it is, where the unintelligent follow the 'gods' of social media; and how companies use the power of using people to advertise their products.

I was also fascinated by Donna Mills - if her eyebrows got any higher they would be part of her hairline ! and she could barely utter her lines because she couldn't move her mouth - hilarious !