“Beastly is an edgy teen romance about learning how to see past false surfaces to discover true inner beauty. Kyle Kingson (Alex Pettyfer) has it all – looks, intelligence, wealth and opportunity – and a wicked cruel streak. Prone to mocking and humiliating “aggressively unattractive” classmates, he zeroes in on Goth classmate Kendra (Mary-Kate Olsen), inviting her to the school’s extravagant environmental bash. Kendra accepts, and, true to form, Kyle blows her off in a particularly savage fashion. She retaliates by casting a spell that physically transforms him into everything he despises. Enraged by his horrible and unrecognizable appearance he confronts Kendra and learns that the only solution to the curse is to find someone that will love him as he is – a task he considers impossible. Repulsed by his appearance, Kyle’s callous father (Peter Krause) banishes him to Brooklyn with a sympathetic housekeeper (LisaGay Hamilton) and blind tutor (Neil Patrick Harris). As Kyle ponders how to overcome the curse and get his old life back, he chances upon a drug addict in the act of killing a threatening dealer. Seizing the opportunity, Kyle promises the addict freedom and safety for his daughter Lindy (Vanessa Hudgens) if she will consent to live in Kyle’s Brooklyn home. Thus begins Kyle’s journey to discover true love in this hyper-modern retelling of the classic “Beauty and the Beast” story. “

I am a huge fan of anything Beauty and the Beast.  About a year ago, I picked up the book Beastly by Alex Flinn.  It was a fun, easy read and I really liked it.  It was also told from the viewpoint of the Beast.  We have never heard his side of the story before.  I was super excited to hear that it was being made into a film.  I loved watching this film.  There were many differences between the book and the film but it was still fun to watch.

My favorite part of the film was how much fun the actors seemed to have.  I loved Neil Patrick Harris in this movie as Kyle’s blind tutor.  He made me laugh whenever he was on the screen.  Mary-Kate Olsen was fantastic as the witch Kendra.  I wish that they would have used her more in the film.

Overall, this is a very predictable film and sometimes really corny but I had a great time watching it.  If you need to fun girls night out or a romantic chick flick, this is definitely the film for you!

Beastly gets bragging rights!

Beastly is rated PG-13 for language including crude comments, brief violence, and some thematic material.  It opens today in theaters.

 

 

**I attended a screening of Beastly for this review.