Beastly

I was able to score a couple of screening tickets for the new movie Beastly. It is the classic Beauty and the Beast story with a modern twist. It stars Alex Pettyfer, Vanessa Hudgens, Mary-Kate Olsen, and Neil Patrick Harris. The movie opens this Friday in theaters.

I wish I could say, run out and see it but I can't. It is a definite wait for it to come out on dvd movie. I thought Alex Pettyfer started out strong. In the first ten minutes of the film, he made you think wow what a jerk. This is gonna be good. But the rest of his performance couldn't hold up. The beast's look was very good. It was a unique interpretation and one that is easy to connect with in today's society.

Enter Vanessa Hudgens. She is pretty. But there isn't a lot of talent behind that constant smile and smoldering eyes. There is no depth to her. Her character had plenty of depth, Hudgens didn't have the ability to pull it off. I feel that she sabotages Pettyfer's performance. I did enjoy seeing Mary-Kate Olsen as the witch. Also not a great performance, but she at least she was believable as her character.

My favorite performance was by Neil Patrick Harris as the blind tutor. Every time the man was on screen, his wit and charm had the entire audience captivated. His performance was entertaining and worth my time in the theater.

The story line had big holes in it and sprinkled in a little of this and a little of that so it would resemble the fairy tale. The problem with filming a modern day fairy tale, is that everyone knows the story. The writers get lazy and give the audience an incomplete storyline.

The movie is rated PG-13. It is not the fairy tale that your little ones would enjoy. But the tween and the teen crowd will enjoy the movie as they did at the screening. Between the non-execution of a really good classic story and the absolutely wrong choice for the heroine, I give the film 2 stars for trying.