Beastly directed by Daniel Barnz

Beastly directed by Daniel Barnz, CBS Films, 2011
ASIN: B002ZG975Q

Plot Summary

When arrogant teen Kyle Kingston decides to invite the high school outcast Kendra to the prom only to cruelly reject her once there he has no idea how damaging his decision will be. Kendra, transforming into her true fairy self, casts a spell over Kyle, cursing him with everlasting ugliness unless he can find someone to love him within the year. Angry and crushed, Kyle drops out of school to live in isolation save the company of his blind tutor and caring housekeeper. But Kyle does not wallow in depression for long as he is desperate to become his normal self again. With the help of his tutor and housekeeper he concocts a plan to have humble, beautiful Lindy stay in his home. But once she arrives, Lindy will have nothing to do with Kyle, whom she does not recognize now that he is disfigured. Somehow Kyle must convince Lindy that he is worthy of her love before the year is out and his spell is irreversible.

Critical Evaluation

It is easy to see why reviewer Adam Markovitz (2011) at Entertainment Weekly called this film “stunningly bad”. Everything from the acting to the plot is disappointing. From the first moments of the film viewers wince as they watch Alex Pettyfer’s horribly stilted acting. Even Vanessa Hudgens of High School Musical fame leaves much to be desired. Of course, with awkward scripting and supposedly witty one-liners like “Hurt is girl talk for ‘Call me now, bonehead’” even the most brilliant actors could do little to salvage this movie (Barnz, 2011). And that is a shame, as the essence of the film (and the book the movie is based off of) is a beautifully re-imagined version of Beauty and the Beast. Viewers will quickly recognize the plot structure of this re-telling and try to root for the protagonist as he undergoes a difficult metamorphosis from selfish oaf to compassionate teen. But it is hard to become emotionally involved in a film with such an obvious lack of chemistry between the two leads. Still, there are a few good scenes within the film, especially one in which Kyle tries to buy Lindy’s affection through expensive jewelry and purses only to realize that a box of Jujyfruits is the way to her heart. And while the script and acting are horrible, the message of the film is wonderful. Kyle has grown up his whole life being told by his father and his peers that appearance is the only thing that truly matters. He even touches upon this when he is running for Green Committee president: “Should you vote for me just because I’m the rich, popular, good-looking guy with a famous news anchor dad? And the answer is “Hell yeah!” (Barnz, 2011). Of course, as the film progresses Kyle realizes that physical beauty isn’t nearly as important as a compassionate heart. The other intriguing theme explored in the film is parental neglect. Although Kyle’s father appears in a few scenes in the beginning of the film, he is largely absent from the movie. The viewer is led to believe that Kyle is partially the arrogant teen he is as a response to his father’s neglect. Although there is no resolution to this problem, it does make the viewer consider how damaging an irresponsible, neglectful parent can be to their teen. However, despite the positive themes conveyed, this movie is still a terrible film that only warrants watching once, if at all.

Markovitz, Adam (2011, March 8) Beastly. Retrieved from http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20471154,00.html

Reader’s Annotation

When a fairy curses arrogant Kyle to eternal ugliness unless he can find someone to love him within a year, the young high schooler despairs. But, with the help of his blind tutor and kind housekeeper, Kyle hatches a plan that will hopefully make gentle Lindy fall for him.

About the Director/Author of Screenplay

Write and director Daniel Barnz is new to Hollywood having only directed two pieces before Beastly (one of which was a short). For a time he wrote screenplays only to have them never produced. Discouraged, he insisted in an interview that he decided that if he did not have a script produced by November 2007 he and his family would move to Africa (Champagne, 2008). Fortunately, the move did not take place as Silverwood Films agreed to produce Phoebe in Wonderland, a film that was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival (IMDB, n.d.).

He is currently working on the film Steel Town of which he is both a screenwriter and director for. Hopefully, this will be a good film like Phoebe in Wonderland as it includes talented actors such as Maggie Gyllenhaal and Oscar Isaac.

Champagne, C. (2008, Jan. 16). 10 Directors to watch: Daniel Barnz. Retrieved from http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117979142

IMDB (n.d.) Awards for Phoebe in Wonderland. Retrieved from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1034325/awards

Genre

Drama, Fantasy, Romance

Tags

Terrible, re-imagined fairy tales, beauty and the beast, roses, fairies, spells, curses, neglectful parents, single parent, single dad, blind, immigration

Curriculum Ties

Beastly could be used in a unit on re-imagined fairy tales or in one that discusses the potential problems of physical beauty.

Booktalk Ideas

N/A

Interest Level

Interest Level: 6^th-12^th grades (11-18 yrs.)

Challenge Issues

While this is a fairly tame movie there are a few swear words scattered about and Alex lists his interests on a social networking site as “anything bangable”. If challenged, librarians should point out the overall positive message of the film (beauty of character matters more than physical beauty) and explain the library’s collection policy.

Why Was This Included?

I decided to include Beastly because I liked the book and because I wanted to include a teen movie made in 2011.