Beastly: Review By Jami Philbrick

Hollywood likes trends ... and it always has. When a studio comes up with an idea for a project, often another studio will try to make a similar film to compete with it. That's why we've seen two different films about volcanoes, or about asteroids, hit theaters at the same time. Recently vampire films have been the craze thanks to "Twilight" and last year the Western made its return thanks to "True Grit." It looks like 2011 is shaping up to be the year of the fairy tale. In a few weeks actress Amanda Seyfreid will star in "Red Riding Hood" and it has been recently announced that Oscar winner Julia Roberts will star as the Wicked Queen in "Snow White." Now another fairy tale has gotten a big screen makeover with the new teen-interpretation of the classic "Beauty and the Beast" fairy tale entitled "Beastly," starring Vanessa Hudgens ("Sucker Punch") and Alex Pettyfer ("I Am Number Four"). Unfortunately, the film does not capture any of the romance or magic of the original source material and is often boring, mean-spirited and filled with ridiculously bad performances.

Let me start with what is good about this movie, which isn't much. Actress Vanessa Hudgens, who first gained fame from the "High School Musical" films and will soon be seen in Zack Snyder's upcoming "Sucker Punch," gives a very good performance in "Beastly." She plays the "Beauty" of the film, the unlikely love interest for the hideous looking "Beast" character, and she plays this role very well. She is sweet, funny and interesting to watch no matter how bad the dialogue she has to recite might be. Hudgens proves in this film that she is a talented actress and has the goods to be around for quite some time. Also fun to watch in the movie is actors Neil Patrick Harris ("How I Met Your Mother") and Lisa Gay Hamilton ("Beloved") who play "The Beast's" sidekicks in the film. In fact, they basically represent the clock and the teapot characters from the animated Disney movie. Harris, especially, adds a much needed level of humor and humanity to the film, which otherwise lacks enough sympathy for the main character to capture the audience's interest for very long.

Now for what is really bad about this movie ... pretty much everything else. Some of the acting is down right terrible. Shockingly, "Six Feet Under" star Peter Krause, who is usually terrific on TV, looks like he is phoning it in for the most part and is really bad in some scenes as "The Beast's" unloving father. Equally ridiculous in her role is child star turned tabloid fodder Mary-Kate Olsen. No one has ever accused Olsen of being a gifted actress but her performance as the Goth-chick/witch that curses the lead character is downright laughable. But the worst performance in the film, and maybe of the year for that matter, belongs to Alex Pettyfer. Pettyfer plays the lead character, a snotty brat turned tattooed monster and he's difficult to watch ... not because of how he looks but because of the actor's over-the-top performance. I understand that he probably wanted to make the character unlikable in the beginning so that he can be redeemed later in the film, but the actor's performance alienates the audience right away and they end up not caring about his character because he is such a jerk. Pettyfer is supposed to be Hollywood's new "it-boy" but if his performance in this film and in last month's "I Am Number Four" is an example of his best work, then I think we may have seen the last of the young actor for a while.

The film begins by introducing us to the absolutely unlikable Kyle Kingsbury (Alex Pettyfer). Kyle is a rich, spoiled, good-looking high school kid who is the most popular guy in school. He doesn't care about anyone but himself and it doesn't matter to him who he hurts as long as he gets what he wants. Kyle has a habit of picking on a strange Goth-girl named Kendra (Mary-Kate Olsen), who claims to be a witch. Meanwhile, Kyle begins an unlikely friendship with a sweet girl named Lindy (Vanessa Hudgens) who sees through his tough-guy act. When Kyle picks on Kendra one too many times, she puts a spell on him that gives him hideous tattoos all over his face and body. The only way to get rid of them is to get a girl to fall in love with him within the next year, and if he can't ... they'll be come permanent. Ashamed of his predicament, Kyle leaves school and decides to live in seclusion. His father (Peter Krause), a local newscaster, is unsympathetic to Kyle's situation and assigns a housekeeper (Lisa Gay Hamilton) and a blind tutor (Neil Patrick Harris) to watch after him. Kyle begins to stalk Lindy and one night protects her, and her drug-addicted father, when thugs attack them. In order to keep Lindy safe, her father agrees to let her live in seclusion with Kyle, unaware of whom he really is. While she is reluctant at first, eventually Lindy and "Adrian" (Kyle's alias) strike up a friendship that starts to become romantic. Now, Lindy must admit her love to Kyle in time to break the spell or Kyle will be stuck like that forever.

Let me mention three more things that really bothered me about this movie. First, I understand the whole modern day "Beauty and the Beast" idea, but why the tattoos on his face? Does that really make him look hideous? I mean the bald-tattoo look is kind of in, isn't it? Secondly, the Goth-chick is a witch premise. I'm pretty sure I saw that movie in the '90s and it was called "The Craft." Third, when Kyle is "stalking" Lindy, which by the way is very creepy, he exhibits some freakish superpowers when he is saving her and her Dad. Why would tattoos give him superpowers? The screenplay by director Daniel Barnz is weak and the over-the-top acting by much of the cast doesn't help either. In the end, the premise of "Beastly" is basically a good one, a "Twilight" version of "Beauty and the Beast," but the execution is terrible. I'm aware that I'm not the target demographic for this film but I can't imagine "Twilight" fans are going to like this very much either. I might recommend this to Vanessa Hudgens fans since the actress is one of the only good things about this film, but you're better off saving your money and going to see "Sucker Punch" in a few weeks.