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Special Features
"Be Mine" Music Video by Kristina and the Dolls
Alternate Ending
Deleted Scenes
A Classic Tale Retold: The Story of Beastly
Creating the Perfect Beast
Alternate Ending
Deleted Scenes
A Classic Tale Retold: The Story of Beastly
Creating the Perfect Beast
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Beastly definitely lives up to its name--it's an absolutely beastly film--and not in a good way. It's a modern-day retelling of Beauty and the Beast based on Alex Flinn's novel Beastly, and one expects some pretty extreme characters, but in this movie, the characters are shallow and one-dimensional to the extreme, and their supposed personal and emotional growth is totally unbelievable. As for the plot--self-absorbed pretty-boy gets cursed, nice girl gets imprisoned with now-ugly boy, boy changes, and the two fall in love--it just never feels real or believable in this film. With a cast that includes Vanessa Hudgens and Neil Patrick Harris, one expects a halfway decent movie, but no amount of talent can overcome bad writing. In fact, one has to question whether Hudgens and Harris even tried, as their performances just aren't that good. The performances of Alex Pettyfer and Peter Krause are even worse, and Lisa Gay Hamilton only saves herself by her comic delivery of lines that primarily consist of two to three heavily accented monosyllables strung together at a time. The audience at our screening squirmed, laughed in inappropriate places, and even groaned out loud as the actors casually tossed off nuggets of wisdom in proper language that seemed totally out of place with the rest of the slang-riddled dialogue. Perhaps truisms like "Be the man I know you to be," lines quoted from Frank O'Hara's poem "Having a Coke," and statements like "Best embrace the suck" are supposed to come off as funny contrasts, but instead it all just seems hopelessly incongruous and falls horribly flat. The one good thing in this movie is the special-effects makeup, though Kyle's face probably looks nothing like the face that most people picture when they read Flinn's book. Don't bother seeing Beastly unless you enjoy sneering at bad, shallow movies. (Ages 13 and older) --Tami Horiuchi
Product Description
Seventeen-year-old Kyle (Alex Pettyfer) is the spoiled, shallow and incredibly popular prince of his high school kingdom. Kyle foolishly chooses Kendra (Mary-Kate Olsen), a witch masquerading as a high school student, as his latest target for humiliation. In order to teach Kyle a lesson, Kendra transforms him into someone as unattractive on the outside as he is on the inside. Now he has one year to find someone to love him, or he will remain Beastly forever. A quiet classmate he never noticed named Lindy (Vanessa Hudgens) may be his best chance to prove that love is never ugly.
Customer Reviews
“ I don't believe neither of these movie are really good to be honest, acting performance is rather mediocre, and storyline very much boring. ”
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
93 of 99 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Having read the book and seen the movie within a week, I'm here to say that the movie could have been so much better.
As is often the case, the book is always better than the movie. Often, for reasons unknown, the screenwriters/ directors/ producers decided what is worth keeping from the novel and what isn't. And often it is us the readers who are left disappointed with their vision.
So what left me disgruntled was this:
Why make Kyle refuse to learn in the movie? Part of the beauty of the novel was that Kyle found solace in the beauty of books and learning. I loved that he was able to relate his situation to the dark characters he connected to in classic novels. The book emphasized that Kyle went through a process where he began to care about himself as a person and cultivate his mind. Also, this process truly shows the relationship between him and his tutor and it's a very special one. In the movie- Kyle refused to learn and scoffed at books and tutoring. Not only is it a terrible message to the youth marketed for this film- but it also ruins a substantial part of the depth of this character. In the novel, one really feels that Kyle is becoming a better person by committing himself to education and relating his experience to classic literature. AND because of this new-found love- he is able to relate to Lindy and that is one of the reasons they fall in love. This was IMPORTANT! He reads Jane Eyre for the girl because she asks him too. That was a beautiful metaphor, of course, and it was just totally missed in the film.
Why change the character Sloan? In the book, Sloan was the female version of Kyle. There are essential parts of the book where Kyle learns about love and humanity by realizing that Sloan is superficial and was using him for popularity. Even her role at the end was essential to realizing the growth of Kyle. In the movie, they take Sloan and make her into a victim which just doesn't work. At one point Kyle hears Sloan say that she "had to be mean" because she felt Kyle made her that way. This makes Sloan into a nice girl who was forced to torture other people because Kyle forced her too. This just didn't work for me in the plot line. If she really was this nice person under her mean (fake) exterior, then perhaps she would have actually loved Kyle or helped him after his transformation. In the book, she only loves him because he's popular and handsome and when he goes to her, she runs away. This was an important series of events! It was part of his learning process about love and the depth of people. The movie pretty much axed her part and changed her role in the story- therefore taking out another essential slice of the pie.
Why in the world did they change the end of movie?! When I read the book, I found the last pages to be so powerful and amazing. I re-read the ending several times and then sat back, sated, feeling a surge of romantic pleasure. I was really shocked that they removed the best part of the story- which, in essence, was the part that made you, the viewer/reader, realize that Kyle really had "changed" and deserved a second chance at life. What he did for his lady love was so amazing and was such a true sacrifice, I just melted! The movie as it is now just ends sorta ho-hum. An anti-climatic reunion at best.
I've read the critic reviews and nearly all of them say this movie isn't good because the transformation of Kyle just isn't believable. The movie seems silly to them because it has no depth. I think the reason why is because all of the parts of the story that showed his growth and depth were removed. I could go on about parts that are missing, but basically the filmmakers just used the shell of the story and didn't include the meat inside. You can't tell a viewer that the beast has evolved simply by telling them it's so. You have to prove it.
I felt the movie was sorta awesome but always fell short of total awesomeness. I had watched the preview to the film at least a dozen times and, in my mind, I had filled in the movie with so much possibility. I was so excited to see the actors take the depth of the novel and really push their limits to showcase this fairy tale as a real modern-day possibility. But I felt they were often holding back. There were some moments I cheered because I felt the real poignancy of the depth of the story... but overall I felt like the actor's were told to be deep but not too deep.
I don't blame this on Vanessa or Alex. I could almost feel them both wanting to do more. So what happened? Can we do so more filming and add in the parts that were missed to make it a real winner?
This really had potential but I suggest you go read the Beastly Movie Tie-in Edition if you haven't had a chance.
******EDITED EDITED EDITED FOR AN UPDATE******:
For those of you who are interested, the DVD special edition of the film has the correct ending of the movie under the "deleted scenes" area of the Special Features as an alternative ending. Perhaps it was too violent to show in theaters, who knows... but it's actually better (in my opinion) than the cheesy ending they tacked onto it.
As is often the case, the book is always better than the movie. Often, for reasons unknown, the screenwriters/ directors/ producers decided what is worth keeping from the novel and what isn't. And often it is us the readers who are left disappointed with their vision.
So what left me disgruntled was this:
Why make Kyle refuse to learn in the movie? Part of the beauty of the novel was that Kyle found solace in the beauty of books and learning. I loved that he was able to relate his situation to the dark characters he connected to in classic novels. The book emphasized that Kyle went through a process where he began to care about himself as a person and cultivate his mind. Also, this process truly shows the relationship between him and his tutor and it's a very special one. In the movie- Kyle refused to learn and scoffed at books and tutoring. Not only is it a terrible message to the youth marketed for this film- but it also ruins a substantial part of the depth of this character. In the novel, one really feels that Kyle is becoming a better person by committing himself to education and relating his experience to classic literature. AND because of this new-found love- he is able to relate to Lindy and that is one of the reasons they fall in love. This was IMPORTANT! He reads Jane Eyre for the girl because she asks him too. That was a beautiful metaphor, of course, and it was just totally missed in the film.
Why change the character Sloan? In the book, Sloan was the female version of Kyle. There are essential parts of the book where Kyle learns about love and humanity by realizing that Sloan is superficial and was using him for popularity. Even her role at the end was essential to realizing the growth of Kyle. In the movie, they take Sloan and make her into a victim which just doesn't work. At one point Kyle hears Sloan say that she "had to be mean" because she felt Kyle made her that way. This makes Sloan into a nice girl who was forced to torture other people because Kyle forced her too. This just didn't work for me in the plot line. If she really was this nice person under her mean (fake) exterior, then perhaps she would have actually loved Kyle or helped him after his transformation. In the book, she only loves him because he's popular and handsome and when he goes to her, she runs away. This was an important series of events! It was part of his learning process about love and the depth of people. The movie pretty much axed her part and changed her role in the story- therefore taking out another essential slice of the pie.
Why in the world did they change the end of movie?! When I read the book, I found the last pages to be so powerful and amazing. I re-read the ending several times and then sat back, sated, feeling a surge of romantic pleasure. I was really shocked that they removed the best part of the story- which, in essence, was the part that made you, the viewer/reader, realize that Kyle really had "changed" and deserved a second chance at life. What he did for his lady love was so amazing and was such a true sacrifice, I just melted! The movie as it is now just ends sorta ho-hum. An anti-climatic reunion at best.
I've read the critic reviews and nearly all of them say this movie isn't good because the transformation of Kyle just isn't believable. The movie seems silly to them because it has no depth. I think the reason why is because all of the parts of the story that showed his growth and depth were removed. I could go on about parts that are missing, but basically the filmmakers just used the shell of the story and didn't include the meat inside. You can't tell a viewer that the beast has evolved simply by telling them it's so. You have to prove it.
I felt the movie was sorta awesome but always fell short of total awesomeness. I had watched the preview to the film at least a dozen times and, in my mind, I had filled in the movie with so much possibility. I was so excited to see the actors take the depth of the novel and really push their limits to showcase this fairy tale as a real modern-day possibility. But I felt they were often holding back. There were some moments I cheered because I felt the real poignancy of the depth of the story... but overall I felt like the actor's were told to be deep but not too deep.
I don't blame this on Vanessa or Alex. I could almost feel them both wanting to do more. So what happened? Can we do so more filming and add in the parts that were missed to make it a real winner?
This really had potential but I suggest you go read the Beastly Movie Tie-in Edition if you haven't had a chance.
******EDITED EDITED EDITED FOR AN UPDATE******:
For those of you who are interested, the DVD special edition of the film has the correct ending of the movie under the "deleted scenes" area of the Special Features as an alternative ending. Perhaps it was too violent to show in theaters, who knows... but it's actually better (in my opinion) than the cheesy ending they tacked onto it.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
One for the saps. Maybe it's my recent break-up talking, but I liked this one. It's ultra-romance, where the bad guy realizes the error of his ways, and the poor-girl hot-chick still manages to look pretty and stay smart despite her severe family troubles - but the film knows what it is and doesn't shy away from it. The screenwriter tried to be "hip" with the dialogue, creating his own lingo that resembles a sore thumb at times when the actors (young and hip in their own right) stumble on, rather than integrate, the new lexicon.
A highlight is Neil Patrick Harris as the blind tutor, whose frequent one-liners give the film a levity it greatly needs in order to stay away from the "I love you so much it hurts" scenario that a film like this always gravitates toward. Also a huge welcome back to Mary-Kate Olsen as the witch. Her outfits are a character all their own.
The plot is simple and stays true to the book. It would be sacrilege to turn Alex Pettyfer into a real beast, so I forgive the producers of the film for playing tame on that account. This is the type of movie teenagers see and swoon over, which brings back plenty memories of a certain Mr. DiCaprio reciting Shakespeare. I love the film for that, so if you don't mind a little sap - and Vanessa Hudgens - give it a shot.
A highlight is Neil Patrick Harris as the blind tutor, whose frequent one-liners give the film a levity it greatly needs in order to stay away from the "I love you so much it hurts" scenario that a film like this always gravitates toward. Also a huge welcome back to Mary-Kate Olsen as the witch. Her outfits are a character all their own.
The plot is simple and stays true to the book. It would be sacrilege to turn Alex Pettyfer into a real beast, so I forgive the producers of the film for playing tame on that account. This is the type of movie teenagers see and swoon over, which brings back plenty memories of a certain Mr. DiCaprio reciting Shakespeare. I love the film for that, so if you don't mind a little sap - and Vanessa Hudgens - give it a shot.
16 of 20 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
I can't say the remix did it a lot of good. The story gets off to a shallow start, with pretty much every character acting out some stereotype. Kyle places himself squarely in a cult of personality (his), at the expense of everything that matters. Lindy (charmingly played by Vanessa Hudgens) is the earnest one, working her way up from an unfortunate start - almost a Horatio Alger character, or a character from one of those nineteenth century class-consciousness novels. One of the Olsen sisters showed up in goth drag, playing the part of the witch.
After that, the classic Beauty/Beast story plays itself out predictably: fair maiden held in isolation with The Beast, he trying desperately to break the enchantment. How this happens in modern-day New York (or something similar) stretches credulity, but I'll go along with that much for the sake of the story. The only real additions to the old fairy tale are Kyle's father - as obnoxious as Kyle, but more practiced - and his tutor, who probably shouldn't make me think of Pinocchio's Jiminy Cricket but does.
In the utterly predictable happy ending, true love blossoms. Or, I wonder, was it just Stockholm Syndrome?
Outstanding, if you're a high schooler looking for a shallow, romantic date movie - but I'm not.
-- wiredweird, reviewing the release to theaters
After that, the classic Beauty/Beast story plays itself out predictably: fair maiden held in isolation with The Beast, he trying desperately to break the enchantment. How this happens in modern-day New York (or something similar) stretches credulity, but I'll go along with that much for the sake of the story. The only real additions to the old fairy tale are Kyle's father - as obnoxious as Kyle, but more practiced - and his tutor, who probably shouldn't make me think of Pinocchio's Jiminy Cricket but does.
In the utterly predictable happy ending, true love blossoms. Or, I wonder, was it just Stockholm Syndrome?
Outstanding, if you're a high schooler looking for a shallow, romantic date movie - but I'm not.
-- wiredweird, reviewing the release to theaters
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
best movie ever
i enjoy this movie for a good price. Love is never ugly. Great actors too. Favorite part would been when he states to see the really picture of beauty.
Published 6 hours ago by paola
2.0 out of 5 stars
Not a good movie
Now I read the book and then watch the expecting it to actually be good..... I COULD NEVER BE SO WRONG first of all if you never read the book or you havent seen the movie here... Read more
Published 7 days ago by trinpin
5.0 out of 5 stars
Buy it now
Excellent DVD sexy funny cute romantic teenage cuteness so go buy it now you will enjoy it so have a good night watching and fun
Published 12 days ago by yechiel
3.0 out of 5 stars
Okay
It's a pretty ok movie to watch on a boring, rainy day. It's nothing special but an overall ok movie,
Published 17 days ago by Hannah
4.0 out of 5 stars
PRETTY GOOD
THE movie is obviously a remake of beauty and the beast so if you liked that movie you will enjoy this. Read more
Published 18 days ago by T. Labus
5.0 out of 5 stars
Beastly teaches a lesson<3
Do you think your better then everyone else? Kyle sure did. Because he doe, he is turned into a beast. You ask how? Well, that's for you to find out! Read more
Published 19 days ago by SumerFlinn
4.0 out of 5 stars
very good
This portal of beauty and the beast. It takes it to a whole other area. But very well but together.
Published 21 days ago by B. Vass
5.0 out of 5 stars
Secretly love this movie
Not gonna lie, when I first saw the previews for this movie I blew it off as just another dumb teenage movie. But I guess deep down I'm just a sucker for dumb teenage movies. Read more
Published 29 days ago by SugarBee
4.0 out of 5 stars
it was good
i liked the movie when it was animated bringing to life for the teenage audience was a good movie. It sounds cheesy but it shows you that love should be about who you are not what... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Jenny Fletes
5.0 out of 5 stars
perfect
I love this movie! it came in on time I was very happy about that, I would recommend this movie if you like love story!
Published 1 month ago by Farrah
