Beastly

In accidentally coming into work 2 1/2 hours early yesterday, I got the unexpected pleasure of watching Beastly. I'll be honest in saying that I was really skeptical about this movie, but I was pleasantly surprised. I found it to be a beautiful, modern day telling of Beauty and the Beast. Now, I actually haven't seen Beauty and the Beast since I was a child so I only remember bits and pieces. But the similarities are there and they can be related back to the classic Disney movie. The movie follows a high school student, Kyle (Alex Pettyfer), who is obsessed with his good looks and money. He's a snob and treats everyone like they are inferior to him. He goes too far in publicly embarrassing Kendra (Mary-Kate Olsen), who everyone calls a witch, but in fact, really is a witch. She places a curse on him that turns him beast-like, one could say. She tells him he has until next Spring to find someone to say "I love you" or he stays that way forever. He starts to notice Lindy (Vanessa Hudgens), a pretty but not-so-popular girl from school and really takes a liking to her because she's one of the only people who sees him for who he is on the inside.

I really enjoyed this movie and I'd say that I would place it high up on my list of favorite romance movies. While I haven't been a huge fan of Vanessa Hudgens, I think she fit the role she played perfectly. Mary-Kate Olsen has been off the grid for a while, but I think she was fantastic in this. As for newcomer Alex Pettyfer, I think he has a lot of potential. The whole mood of this movie was just so saddening and heartwarming at the same time. I recommend this as a great chick flick!