Beastly – movie review

Beastly is a modern take on Beauty & the Beast, taking place in New York during modern times. The story follows a vain boy named Kyle who believes looks are everything, and that without looking good that makes you a nobody. This ticks off a witch who places a curse on him in order for him to learn that it is on the inside that matters the most. However, only does falling in love with someone will break his curse. He is given a year to find someone to fall in love with him, which he knows who he wants to love to him.

I love the story, which I think is another example of a great movie that does not need to throw in anything extra. In a lot of ways, I feel like it can be compared to Twilight in a lot of ways. However, Beastly is its own movie, and deserves its own review based on merits. Much like the original Disney classic, the story is a sweet love story that proves people can change if needed. The key that this story teaches is that the person has to want to change. Nothing else can change them, which perhaps helps shape this movie into a believable story. I am still in awe over the movie, which most films do not have that kind of affect on me. I think that this story will stay in the forefront of people’s minds for a long time to come. I want to throw also in that this movie was based upon a book in the same name, but surprisingly it did not come off as a silly movie edition. It felt much more organic so to speak.

Now, on to the characters I will say that I am a fan of all of them. They each brought something new to the story, even help keep it funny at times. Nobody dragged it down, they each had a clear reason on why they were involved in the story. Of course, the star crossed friends are the two leading roles for a reason. It pretty much is their story from the start, but it also had a few co-stars that helped give the story some shape. Of course, my favorite characters were Lindy & Kyle because they were what made the story. Without them, there would have not been a story to tell in the movie.

The plot was well thought, which I was surprised about. I was worried that it comes out as a bad knock off of the original story, which it is far from the case. While the movie does not have a twist, it does give an example of how love stories used to be. It took off right from the first scene, and did not slow down at all. The pace was just right without causing you to wonder what on earth has just happened?! It is the perfect blend of chick flick, family flick, drama, humor, and romance. Best of all it was not crude in any way, just a simple film that was written, and acted in good taste.

Set wise, I think they did a great job. The homes were very real looking and even the school looked like a school for rich kids. Besides that, the make up they gave Kyle was an amazing job. It looks so real, I had almost a hard time believing that it was just fake. His team did an excellent job at making him really look as if that was how he naturally looked. It most likely took hours of work to get him to look that way. The movie should win an award just based on his make up team alone.

Idea age group was an easy choice to make. It is perfect for older kids, or families if the young kids know that it is fiction. It would be ideal for slumber parties, girls night out, by yourself, or for family night. It can really reach out to a large amount of age groups, which makes it a great option for so many. If they only made more movies like Beastly, I think that the movie business would do even better than time.

To wrap this review up, I will say that I think this has been the best film that I have seen thus far this year. It has a quality, and substance to it that made it a stand out from the rest. For my classic 1 out of 10, I give it a 10. It is a type of movie that you can watch again, yet never be bored with despite that you watched it more than once. This will be a movie that I will buy on DVD, once it is released for retail store sales.